Worth The Wait
by Animegirl1129
Summary: Jason/Spinelli Spinelli's parents show up in the middle of the night and some of Damian's secrets are inadvertently exposed, leaving Jason in a difficult situation.
1. Prologue: Part 1

Worth The Wait

_**AU in that I entirely distort the timeline of events as it is known to have occurred. Not so much actual events, but moreso the details of people involved in them. Which reminds me. I suppose I have to warn for mentions of underage involvement. Nothing graphic or messy, I promise. Partially co written with cynical_sweater and with lots and lots of aid courtesy of suerum. OC's are mine, recognizable characters are not. Reviews are loved. Enjoy!**_

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**Prologue: Part 1  
**

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The loud, incessant pounding on the door has become increasingly harder to ignore, as much as Jason has tried to do just that. He groans, and manages to disentangle himself from his bedmate without disturbing him. He spends a moment just watching the almost non-teen, seriously debating the benefits of ignoring his late night/early morning visitor.

Spinelli does look awfully tempting, all sleep softened and warm, but it's the violent bam-bam-bam at his door that snaps him out of his reverie. He's still tugging a t-shirt on over his head when he reaches the door. "Alright!" He roars, flinging it open. Two unidentified people stand in the hallway.

"Are you the man who has my son?" A woman several inches shorter than himself accuses of him, as she barges into his home, eyes searching the area for any traces of whatever it is she's after – it's far too early for any coherent thought beyond 'sleepbednow' to process. The man standing behind her does not appear to be in a good mood. He has the build of someone who has spent a lot of time behind a desk drowning in paperwork.

Jason looks between the intruders. "Can I help you two with something?" He asks, attempting politeness. It comes out with more biting irritation than anything else. The woman ignores his question in favor of yelling blindly, in the hopes of being heard by the unconscious boy up in their bedroom.

"Damian!" The woman shouts at the foot of the stairs. "Damian! Are you up there!?"

"Mm." The blue-eyed man protests through a yawn. "Spinelli sleeps like the dead. He won't hear you."

The man, who has been silent until this point, finally speaks. Jason had almost forgotten he was there. "So our son is here?"

"You're his parents?" Jason stares, surprise more than evident on his features.

"Oh!" The woman stops her uncalled for wake-up call and turns to face the man who greeted them, offering a hand. "How rude of us. I'm Lisa Spinelli, this is my husband Daniel."

He nods, accepting the hand and the introductions. "Jason Morgan."

Daniel's eyebrows shoot into his receding hairline, and that leads Jason to think that the man recognizes his name. He doesn't say anything, though, so neither does Jason.

"Why didn't anyone contact us?" Lisa demands, invading Jason's personal space to do so.

Everyone's gaze turns to the stairs a second later, with the sound of someone walking down them. Spinelli leans against the wall, yawning, dressed only in his boxers and one of Jason's old t-shirts. "Stone Cold, what's with all the yelling?" He rubs at his eyes, looking years younger than his age of almost two decades.

Before the younger man can register what was happening, he finds himself swept up into the woman's embrace, being lifted off his feet with the force of it. "My baby!" She sobs, holding him tight.

Jason notices his lover's look of wide-eyed terror, and immediately sets to work on prying him from his mother's grasp. "Your parents decided to pay you a visit." He helpfully supplies, once she has finally released him.

"No, no, we're not visiting; we're here to take him back home with us." Lisa nods, her arms still wrapped around the violently struggling Spinelli. They're both in danger of toppling down the stairs.

"What!?" Spinelli and Jason ask at the same time, both staring incredulously at the others.

"You heard us, Damian." His mother replies, smoothing down his sleep-rumpled hair and tapping her foot impatiently. "And we should get going soon."

Spinelli is doing that thing again. That thing where he paws and clings frantically at Jason, trying to get as close as possible without actually fusing with the other man. "Hey, hey, Stone Cold? Would it be possible for the Jackal to speak to you alone for a moment?"

Jason nods, pulling the younger man toward the kitchen, though he hears something along the lines of 'Oh, God, he's still talking like he's insane,' from the boy's father, and Jason mentally notes that such comments will not be tolerated should they continue.

"You… you're not gonna let them take me, are you?" Now Jason knows his young friend is upset, when the Spinelli-talk stops, it's all the clue he needs to know that's the case.

"They're your parents, you don't want to go with them?" He asks, just now realizing that he knows virtually nothing of his roommates past. "When was the last time you talked to them, anyway?"

Spinelli sinks into one of the chairs, staring up Jason with a hurt expression. "You d-don't want me here, Stone Cold?" He stammers, completely disregarding the other's question.

He shakes his head, and drops to his knees in front of Spinelli. "No, I want you here; of course I want you here. I just… don't know why you got so jumpy when you realized they were here."

"Just don't let them take me." He begs, and reaches out to the older man.

Jason nods. "Alright. Alright. I won't." He promises, and then promptly finds himself tackled in a hug. He stands and walks back into the other room with Spinelli still attached to his side.

"Son?" His father raises a curious eyebrow, staring suspiciously at the man holding onto his son.

"While the Jackal is…" The younger man pauses, fiddling with his hands and trying to decide on the right word. "…that is… I…"

Something is seriously wrong here. Not many things can turn Spinelli speechless. He's tried.

His mother glances at her watch. "Damian, go get your things, dear." She instructs, rolling her eyes and not even pretending to acknowledge the boys attempted protests.

"No." It's Jason who says it, and it effectively gets Spinelli's parents attention. "He wants to stay." He can feel Spinelli's wordless nod against his shoulder.

"Well, I'm his mother. He's coming with us. I thank you very much for taking him in and keeping him out of trouble, but you have no business when it comes to my family." She glances at her watch again with an exasperated sigh, and snaps her fingers. "Now, Damian. Let's get going."

Jason doesn't say anything to her, just keeps his cold glare on the woman before he turns to Spinelli, kissing him quickly. "Go back to bed. I'll be up in a minute." He tells the younger man, who had moved out of the pink room and into his room some months ago. Spinelli does as told without any further prompting, racing up the stairs faster than Jason has ever seen him move.

Both of them are staring intently at him, as everything clicked into place. "You…" Lisa's eyes widen in shock as she struggles to find words.

The obvious pencil-pusher clenches his fists, as his eyes take on a dangerous edge; it's a look that only a parent can assume in light of a child's pain. "I should have you arrested." Daniel finally says, seeming to settle for threatening him.

"Look, go ahead and try. Spinelli's old enough to make his own decisions. You can't make him leave if he doesn't want to." They hardly seem convinced of that. "But, I can make you leave. So…"

"I'm not leaving here without my son," Daniel as much as growls at him. "Damian!"

Jason is getting tired of this. "Leave." He orders in such a way that allows no room for argument. Lisa looks marginally threatened – at least she has stopped looking at her watch – but her husband stands what little ground he has claimed.

Daniel squares his shoulders, and balls his hands into fists before getting right up in Jason's face. "I know who you are. I'm not leaving my son anywhere near you."

"Dan?" The man's wife obviously isn't as clued into local current events as he is.

"Mr. Morgan here works for Sonny Corinthos. Not only is he evidently involved with Damian, he's gotten our son involved in the mob." Daniel glares, as his wife gasps in a mixture of horror and disbelief. "Isn't that right?"

"I'm going back to bed." Jason chooses to ignore the accusations entirely as he steps toward the front door. "Now, could you… leave?"

Neither makes a move, but after an intense staring contest Lisa takes a step forward and her husband follows suit. "We'll be back." The man warns, only to have the door slammed shut in his face.

With that problem taken care of, Jason proceeds back upstairs, though he promptly runs into Spinelli, who is waiting around the corner. Catching himself on Spinelli's shoulder, he leads the younger man back to their room with an arm wrapped low around his waist. Spinelli settles against him, and Jason can just feel that Spinelli is as exhausted as he is. "Okay, so, they're gone. Now what's going on?"

The look Spinelli gives him in response tells him that he isn't going to like where this conversation is going to go.

"Spinelli? What is it?"

"Could we perhaps continue this conversation in the morning?" Spinelli bites his lip, his face a sickly pallor, and refuses to focus his eyes on any one thing. "It is not that the Jackal wishes to conceal anything from his master, it is that... Ah, well. His customary verbosity fails him for the moment."

Jason sighs, aware of the distress affecting Spinelli's usual state of being. He's jumpy and his hands are shaking. It seems like his parent's showing up really unsettled him. He nods, sighing again as he runs a hand through Spinelli's messy hair, "Yeah, okay. First thing in the morning."

***

Morning comes a bit earlier than Jason had anticipated. He wakes at just after five, in a startlingly empty bed, to the sounds of Spinelli moving about in the pink room. Upon further investigation, Jason discovers that he is stocking a duffel bag with various articles of clothing.

Jason folds his arms across his chest and leans against the door frame as he watches the chaos unfolding in front of him. "You planning on going somewhere?"

Spinelli startles at his voice and halts his impromptu packing. "The Jackal has decided that avoiding this conversation is the better alternative than explaining my parental unit's presence here."

He raises an eyebrow at the explanation but makes no move to stop Spinelli's packing or prod further.

The inaction, it seems, gives Spinelli suitable pause and Jason's silent tactic succeeds in its desired effect. "Do you think I'm just trying to run away from my parents?"

"What am I supposed to think? They show up, you pack. You've been here for almost two years and I don't know anything about your past before you started working for Alcazar." Jason rationally explains as he moves into the room and sits down on the bed. "If not from them, what are you running away from? This conversation? Can't be that bad, can it?"

Spinelli frowns, because it very well may be that bad. "Very well. There is something you need to know, Stone Cold. The Jackal… ran away from home several years ago. Before working for Darth Alcazar, I was, as you know, attending college. In order to do so, without alerting the parental units, I had to… stretch some truths on the paperwork."

Jason nods, urging him to continue. So far, not so bad, Spinelli lied on a college application. Probably forged some documents to match it. Not the worst thing he's done by a long shot.

"I… had to lie about how old I was."

That does qualify as problematic. Alarm flares as he asks, "How old were you when we…?"

"It was a week before my sixteenth birthday, which we celebrated as my nineteenth." Spinelli answers before Jason can finish his question. He drops his head and wrings his hands, sitting down beside the older man as he waits for Jason's reaction.

Spinelli's birthday is April 27th. It's January 7th. That means close to four months before Spinelli even turns seventeen. Which makes everything Jason has done to him in the last eight months entirely illegal. As this silent processing stage about implodes his brain, he has another realization. "So, last night. When your parents threatened to have me arrested…"

"They were not in fact operating under some highly delusional state of being." He admits, cringing at the very thought of his Stone Cold one being arrested as a result of his slight obfuscation of facts.

"How long were you planning to keep this charade up, Spinelli?" Jason asks, his head in his hands.

Trust is not something that is thrown around lightly with Jason Morgan, Spinelli's knows that – likely better than anyone. Jason's trust in him and in his abilities is how he's managed to get so close to him, after all. And now he's broken it. "The Jackal was admittedly indifferent to it upon our original meeting." It was probably better in the long run for that part. If Jason had known he was so young then, he likely never would have been believed when he presented his falsified evidence against Fair Samantha. "And then the original Blonde One convinced you to allow me to reside here in the regrettably pink room, and the Jackal supposed that you still didn't really need to know." Jason probably would have sent him home if he had known. "By the time it mattered – when we became involved… How was I meant to tell you that I'd been deceiving you for a year?"

Hardly appeased by Spinelli's explanation, but understanding his reasoning, Jason shrugs. He can't change the past. He can't – and likely wouldn't - undo what has transpired between them. In truth, he has no idea how to fix this. "Were you ever going to tell me?"

Spinelli's silence answers his question.

"Damn it. Spinelli, they can say that I kidnapped you – which I did." He hisses in dismay. "I… I… I raped you. They can say I raped you."

"No! Nonononono! Nothing that Stone Cold did was ever, ever against the will of the Jackal. Perhaps, he, meaning I, the Jackal, would go so far as to say that he encouraged it." Spinelli counters, but that does nothing to ease the situation.

Jason shakes his head. "You were fifteen." He drags a hand down his face in his intense exasperation. "I… I need to think about this." Gesturing toward the half-packed bags, he adds, "Don't go anywhere, alright?" And takes his leave before Spinelli can agree or disagree.

***

He confines himself within their room. His room? Should he still call it their room now that he knows what he knows?

Spinelli's all of sixteen and some odd months old. Spinelli is a kid. Just a kid. Jason clenches his fists and leans his knuckles against the windowsill. Most sixteen year olds are chasing after sweethearts and stretching the limits on curfew. A sixteen year olds biggest worry should be passing the math test next week. Not this corrupt, mob life bullshit that can – and no doubt will – swallow him whole.

Jason grits his teeth and shakes with the urge to punch something. Preferably himself. He should have known. He should have picked up on it. Spinelli was way too... Too fragile, too immature, too naive... to be anything but a floundering teenager.

And the worst of it – because there is a worst of it part, aside from the whole raping Spinelli thing – is that, despite all of it, he still wants the kid. Not actively, in this very minute, but in that subconscious way that one always wants their other half. Jason still wants him. He doesn't think he'll ever not want him, sickening as it is to admit that.

Jason does lash out at that admission, slamming his fist hard against the wall. His knuckles scrape and bleed, leaving a bit of a red smear on the otherwise bland surface. He does it again, and again, and again. He keeps punching the wall, until there's a crunching of bone against plaster. He's satisfied to see he broke the wall, but he also broke his hand in the process.

He cradles his hand against his chest and surveys his handy work with a grim sense of accomplishment. He still wants Spinelli – his broken bones are a testament to that – but, to be fair, just an hour ago the kid was almost twenty, not barreling down on barely legal. Jason shakes his head and swears at his own depravity.

The noise that arises as a result of his unprovoked assault on the wall is enough to give Spinelli more than enough reason to interrupt Jason's need to be alone. The teenager comes charging into the room, and stops in his tracks when he spots the bloodied hand and the fist sized hole in the wall. "Why did…" Spinelli swallows and steps forward, catching the injured extremity in his own hands. "Did that accomplish… something?"

"Not so much, no." He admits, even though it did make him feel better, in the sick and twisted way this day is continuously befalling him with. Jason cringes as Spinelli examines the wounds on his knuckles and allows himself to be led to the bathroom.

"The Jackal believes that Stone Cold's injuries as a result of his brawl against the drywall are going to require the opinions of the medically inclined ones at General Hospital." He declares, as he soaks a small towel and drapes it carefully over the bloodied skin.

Jason shakes his head and pulls his hand away. "I'm not going to the hospital."

Spinelli frowns. "And why, pray tell, not?" He leans against Jason's back and reaches around to further inspect the damage caused by the wall, lifting off the cool towel to see how bad it looks now. "Your hand certainly looks as though it is in need of medical attention, it could be fractured."

Jason leans back against him, too, ignoring the pain in his hand and the question. Just for a second, everything is normal again. For about five seconds, before the same thoughts that caused him to punch the wall in the first place make their presence known yet again. He steps away, breaking Spinelli's hold on him.

"Stone Cold?" His voice wavers, ever so slightly, and Jason inhales and exhales shakily before turning to face him.

"We need to talk about this." Jason says, very much uncharacteristically. "We can't be together now." He wishes, desperately, that he had looked away before making such a declaration. Spinelli looks as if the world is crumbling around him. His mouth hangs open, with his lips barely parted, and his eyes widen fractionally.

"I, the Jackal..." He swallows – a motion that Jason definitely does not notice or file away for future fantasies, because Jason does not fantasize about teenage boys – and tries to form a sentence. "The Jackal does not understand the rationale behind his master's decision. What reason does Stone Cold have to deem the Jackal unworthy of his affections?"

"Spinelli, no," Jason shakes his head, stepping away from his self-appointed apprentice. Spinelli reaches out weakly, his hand hanging in thin air, but Jason ignores him. "You can't honestly be asking me that. You know why – why we can't be together. You're sixteen. And I've..." Words fail him, and Jason growls to himself. He can't even say it.

"Done nothing wrong," Spinelli supplies for him, oddly devoid of flowery poetry. "Stone Cold has only shown the Jackal what it truly means to be loved, utterly and completely. It is the greatest gift that this unworthy hacker has ever been given, and he makes an oath to spend his life giving that gift back."

Jason tries to interrupt him, but Spinelli continues, stumbling only slightly over his confession. "You were not even the Jackal's first bedmate, Stone Cold. And he, despicable man that he was, knew your grasshopper's true age, where you did not."

Something changes in Jason – something that Spinelli has only seen directed at their enemies. He snarls, a primal mixture of curse and nonsense, and slams his fist against the wall once further time. Spinelli watches, hands covering his mouth, as Jason stands, his muscles taunt and humming. The plaster is molded around his broken, bleeding hand, and he doesn't even flinch as he retracts his arm.

"Stone Cold, I... It wasn't..."

"Later, Spinelli," he interrupts in a voice without emotion or inflection, and picks bits of white out of the raw, pulsing mess that is his knuckles. "Tell me about it later. Not now, when I'm bleeding all over the floor."


	2. Prologue: Part 2

Worth The Wait

_**AU in that I entirely distort the timeline of events as it is known to have occurred. Not so much actual events, but moreso the details of people involved in them. Which reminds me. I suppose I have to warn for mentions of underage involvement. Nothing graphic or messy, I promise. Partially co-written with cynical_sweater and with lots and lots of aid courtesy of suerum. OC's are mine, recognizable characters are not. Reviews are loved. Enjoy!**_

* * *

**Prologue: Part 2**

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Now situated quite unwillingly in the passenger's seat of one of the cars belonging to the Corinthos-Morgan Organization, Jason stares intently at his swelling hand because he doesn't know if he'll be able to keep himself in control otherwise.

Spinelli, in the driver's seat, en route to General Hospital, keeps shooting him concerned and perplexed looks out of the corner of his eyes that aren't helping matters either. Jason should be the one shooting him concerned looks.

Even the mere thought of what Spinelli told him. That his college roommate knew how old Spinelli actually was – all of 14 at the time - and slept with him anyway… Jason automatically curls his hands into fists and immediately regrets it when the pain shoots through his injured hand.

Think of something else, he tells himself. So he does.

"We need to…" It's hard to say, but it has to be done. Spinelli's parents are still around, he's sure, and likely plan to make good on their threat of police involvement. "Keep our distance from each other."

The wide-eyed, mouth agape look returns to Spinelli's face just as he pulls into a parking space in front of the ER. Then it's gone, replaced by one that's part anger and part heartbreak and Spinelli is scrambling to exit the vehicle as he slams the gearshift into what might or might not be Park.

"Spinelli, wait-" Jason tries to stop him, but isn't fast enough.

***

"So, why were you punching walls out?" Robin asks, as she goes about disinfecting the cuts on Jason's hand while they wait for the imaging results.

Jason, stoic and silent as ever, is as stoic and silent as ever when he chooses not to answer. His eyes wander to Spinelli, who's seated as far away from Jason as he can be while still within the confines of the curtained triage area.

Realizing she's not getting an answer from Jason, she looks to his protégé. "Spinelli, why is Jason punching walls?"

But, Spinelli remains silent as well, which is a strange enough occurrence even before Jason's actions factor into the equation.

"Alright, what is going on between you two?" The younger of the two flinches, as if the question is a physical attack. Jason sighs and prods at his now numb hand.

"Let it go, Robin." Under normal circumstances, she would push the issue. But something in Jason's voice, and Spinelli's posture give her pause. She holds her clipboard to her chest and forces a professional smile.

"Of course. I apologize." Of course, behind her facade, she's quietly plotting and scheming. After all, as a doctor, it's her sworn duty to keep those from harm and injustice. And, clearly, in her medical opinion, this miscommunication is a harmful injustice. Her grin never wavering, Robin turns to Jason. "So, let's talk about your hand."

***

Robin sighs to herself as she leans against the counter of the nurse's station. She drums her fingers on the stack of clipboards next to her, and exhales again. Jason isn't the most forthcoming of friends – which more than often makes her question their delicately balanced friendship – but there's something else about him tonight. Something about him and Spinelli that has her frowning.

She turns around, bracing her elbows on the counter, and buries her head in her hands. "If anyone needs me," she says suddenly to the nurse working the desk, "I'll be in the cafeteria." The nurse pauses in her phone conversation to make eye contact and nod. Robin gives her a forced smile as she ducks into the elevator. When dealing with a crowded hospital, one must perfect their skills of ducking and sneaking about.

Spinelli is where she expects him to be: sitting listlessly at a table, rotating a half empty (no one's in a half full kind of mood) bottle around the circumference of its base. Her heart softens, just a little, and she tucks her hands deep into the pockets of her lab coat.

"Hi Spinelli," she greets quietly as she slides into the seat next to him. He glances at her, and goes back to twisting his fingers around the neck of the bottle. "Rough night?"

He nods, but his previous unnerving silent streak continues.

Robin frowns and props her elbows up on the table. "Did you and Jason get in a fight?" She tries, since, judging by their attitudes and the distance Spinelli had been keeping, it certainly seems plausible as an explanation.

"I suppose that could define some of what occurred within the last several hours." He answers solemnly, taking a long swig of his soda.

That's progress. An actual answer. "You wanna tell me what about?"

Spinelli bites his lip. "Stone Cold would likely prefer it if I were to do no such thing."

"Come on, Spinelli. As one of very few people who know what's going on between the two of you, you know you can trust me." She tries, playing her usual card when they don't tell her things she deems necessary to know. "Maybe I can help."

"Perhaps you are correct." He considers, and pauses for a long moment before he lets out a deep sigh. "Very well. It's just that Stone Cold is not reacting how the Jackal predicted he would. It was hardly any fault of his. The blame lies solely on the Ace of Cyberspace, for it was my lie of omission that created this rather unfortunate situation in the first place. And…"

"Spinelli," Robin interrupts, laughing not unkindly. "I can only help you if I can understand you." He sighs and closes his eyes, clearly ready to give up on explaining his plight. "Come on, Spin. Tell me what's wrong."

"I... may have exaggerated my age, a little bit." His words are hesitant and plain, and Robin can't help the frown darkening her usually bright features.

"How... old are you?" She's almost scared to ask, because there's something about him that's she just now seeing. A youthfulness – a broken innocence – in his eyes, that makes her shake her head very suddenly. "No, don't tell me. If... I'd have to report it."

Spinelli lets his head fall to rest against the cool material of the table. "This has all snowballed out of control." He says, sounding very much like the teenager he very much is, like the innocent and naïve teenager he should be. "The Jackal never intended his simple untruth to go to such a harmful extent. And now Stone Cold…"

"Jason isn't taking this well, I can imagine." She nods in understanding. Jason and lies that spiral out of control do not mix well, as she is well aware. "It… it's not that bad, right?" Or so she hopes, because Spinelli cannot tell her otherwise. "He'll come around."

But, the hacker shakes his head, using his sleeve to wipe at his eyes. "I… sorry." He says, standing to throw away the rest of his drink (even orange soda isn't cheering him up) and taking his leave.

***

Jason is just escaping the likes of the medically inclined ones and all their unwanted tests when Spinelli spots him. His hand is set and casted already, and there's a bottle of pills in his pocket that he's not going to take. "You ready to get out of here?" The elder asks, and just for a second it seems like everything's normal.

But, Jason's logical and totally legitimate rules are still in play. Instead of walking beside Jason, maybe with one of his arms tossed casually over Spinelli's shoulders, the younger hangs back, not even looking as he follows after his not-lover.

It's not until they're safely in the car that the awkward silence breaks. "I don't… like this anymore than you do, Spinelli. But we have to do this."

Spinelli understands. He does. Really. They can't, simply cannot, be together right now. According to the letter of the law, the last eight months never should have happened. But, they did. And Spinelli wouldn't trade them for anything – except maybe actually being the age he'd claimed to be. "I know."

"Okay." Jason nods, glad that they agree on that.

***

Jason was supposed to have a meeting sometime this morning, but he cancels it. That and every other engagement he's had set up for the next few days. Spinelli far outranks anything that could be discussed at shipment inventories and route planning consultations.

The penthouse seems… strange now. As if it has picked up on their awkward avoidance of each other and allows the tension to hang in the air like some sort of unrelenting fog. The guest room – the pink room which had previously been Spinelli's – seems stuffy and unwelcoming. But, Jason takes it upon himself to sleep in there, not having the heart to kick Spinelli out of their room, their bed.

It hardly matters, though. Neither of them can sleep.

Idly, Jason is wondering how on earth he's supposed to fix this huge mess– he can't even sleep without Spinelli beside him, how can he deal with everything else? – when the bedroom door creaks opens and the younger man – boy, Jason mentally corrects – appears.

"Stone Cold?" The voice is hesitant, something he hasn't heard from Spinelli in a long while.

He's not facing the door, so he rolls over. "Can't sleep either?" Spinelli nods in affirmation and despite the fact that it's the last thing he should be doing, he lifts the covers in silent invitation. His mind screams at him – he should be telling Spinelli that this can't happen, they'll just have to deal until they get used to sleeping apart again – but his heart silences his mind. It's just sleep.

Spinelli climbs into bed with him, looking all kinds of relieved at not being pushed away. He curls into Jason's chest, like he always does, and on instinct, Jason's arms curl around him, like they always do. After a couple moment of awkward positioning of limbs, Jason's good hand shifts its way under Spinelli's t-shirt, where it always seems drawn to.

"This is the last time, okay? After this, we sleep apart." Jason insists, because their proximity is way beyond any explainable bounds at this point and he's already trying to steel himself for when that happens because apparently Spinelli has a much tighter hold on him than he'd originally believed. He can't even go a few hours without wanting, needing this closeness. Too weak, too dependent. He can't seem to resist.

What he doesn't know is that Spinelli is having similar thoughts. He can't stay here – not if he's going to have to fight this all the time. Knowing that Jason will be just down the hall, just out of his reach and that he is now longer allowed to simply go fall into his lover's arms. No more joint showers or waking up to Jason pressing kisses against his neck.

Maybe if he talks to his parents, they won't go after Jason for what they think he's done.

For now, though, it can wait. If this is the last chance he gets to sleep wrapped up in Jason's arms, he's definitely not going to ruin it by divulging his plans.

He relaxes in the familiar feel of warm arms around him, and the hand settled on his hip, and drifts off not long after Jason's breathing evens out, as well.

***

The knock on the door seems exponentially more terrifying compared to when they didn't have a damning secret to hide. Jason's up and out of bed in a matter of milliseconds, heading down the stairs, but he stops at the door.

It could be Spinelli's parents, here for another round. It could be Spinelli's parents with the police with a warrant for his arrest.

"Jason, damn it, open up." Sonny's voice breaks the silence and he does as ordered, opening the door once he unfreezes himself. "Jeez, what happened to you?"

His eyes land on the thoroughly bandaged hand. "I, nothing."

Sonny raises an eyebrow. "You get in a fight or something?"

"Only with the drywall." He shrugs it off, pretends like it wasn't important. Like it wasn't a result of life changing news. "What do you want?"

"To know why you bailed on the meetings today. I can't have my enforcer going flakey on me in the midst of that up and coming group of thugs." The thugs in question were a gaggle of leaderless mobsters who suddenly seemed to be taking an interest in Corinthos-Morgan territory. "What's going on?"

Jason shrugs. He's not going to tell Sonny anything about the situation with Spinelli. Sure, he knows they're together – telling him that had ended Sonny's verbal and occasionally physical attacks against him – but he doesn't need to know this.

"Just some issues with-"

Spinelli appears at the bottom of the stairs looking resigned to his fate as he cuts Jason off. "The Jackal will be returning to his humble hometown of Oakfield to stay with the parental ones for a brief while due to an unexpected... situation."

This is just as much news to Jason as it is to Sonny. He doesn't even care that this was supposedly their reasoning for cancelling meetings, he's not letting that slip by unquestioned. "You're what?" Jason all but demands.

Spinelli glances to Sonny – they can't discuss what they need to discuss with him here. Things like 'If I go voluntarily, maybe they won't drag you through court and you won't end up in jail' won't go over well, he imagines.

Sonny can sense, and for once he acts with tact, that he's interrupted something serious, so he mumbles some excuse and says he'll call Jason later about rescheduling the get-together over the newcomers and takes his leave.

Jason's in front of Spinelli a second later. "What do you mean, you're leaving?"

"It's the only way likely to dissuade the parental ones from going after you. If I agree to return to Oakfield with them without any further argument, perchance they won't involve the police. All they saw was a single kiss last night." Was that really only last night? "They have no evidence to suggest that we've done anything more."

He's right and Jason knows it, but that hardly means he has to like it. A long moment passes, just with fixated staring, as the elder contemplates life without Spinelli.

"It's the best solution to a situation that has come about through my own lies of omission and fabrications." Spinelli continues on with Jason's silence.

"I know." Jason says. "That it's the best solution." He steps away, paces for a few moments before he can get his mind and mouth to cooperate with each other again. "I… the second that you turn 18, I'll come and get you. Bring you home, assuming that you want to come back with me."

Spinelli shakes his head because there's no doubt in his mind on that front. "I'll want to come home, Stone Cold. I can guarantee that." His gaze lands on his laptop, running on the desk by the door, and he motions Jason over to it. "I suspect that my parents will not approve should we try to contact each other, so might I suggest a more… diabolical method of communication?"

Communication will be an issue. It's unlikely that anything he sent to Spinelli via postal service wouldn't be intercepted by his parents at some point. Which, by default, makes the realm of cyberspace, Spinelli's specialty, a much safer alternative. "Show me what to do."

"There is a simple cipher that will keep us thoroughly protected in whatever we should chose to speak of in any messages. It involves the use of a password as means for unscrambling the code, called a Vigenére cipher." He pulls up a website that does the coding automatically. "If you enter the codeword -shall we use 'stonecold' for our purposes? - and then type a message, you can then simply email the coded result and I can unscramble it using the same codeword."

Jason nods. Simple enough, even for his less than stellar knowledge of technology.

Jason sits on the couch and Spinelli curls up beside him and once again everything seems normal for the briefest of moments. But then Jason hands Spinelli the phone and he watches, holding tight to the boy he won't see again for close to sixteen months, as he dials his parent's cell numbers. Finally, he gets a hold of his father, learns that they're staying at the MetroCourt, and then explains his compromise. He'll go with them if they don't mess with Jason. They agree – they just want their son back - and they assure him that they will arrive to pick him up in no less than an hour.

"They'll be here in 60 minutes." Spinelli reports, sadly. He has to pack, has to change into something other than a bedraggled t-shirt and pajama pants, but he can't bring himself to escape from Jason's hold on him.

Their time has ticked away in the silence, they're down to twenty minutes when Jason finally unwinds his arms from Spinelli's. "Come on, I'll help." He says, and leads Spinelli upstairs to the pink room. Some of his stuff is in Jason's – their – room, but the majority of his clothes are still in the migratory process.

They pack methodically, and in silence. And if a couple of Jason's t-shirts find their way into Spinelli's suitcase and if a few of Spinelli's remain tucked away in the dresser in the pink room, neither mentions it. Spinelli's laptop is packed – with his back-up left for Jason.

"That everything?" Jason asks, surveying the room. He can always mail Spinelli anything he requires, of course, but he doesn't want Spinelli's parents thinking he's trying anything by doing so. Spinelli nods, and changes quickly, not even bothering to leave the room to do so – Jason's seen him enough times and the fact that he's now several years younger than he had claimed previously makes him no more shy around his not-lover.

Clad now in jeans and one of Jason's black shirts, with a red and grey hoodie to hide it, he nods. "Affirmative." He declares, biting his lip.

There's a knock at the door, but Jason has one last thing to do before he lets Spinelli walk away from him.

He tugs at the fabric of the hoodie, leveraging Spinelli closer. He curls his arms around Spinelli's smaller frame, holds tight for as long as he dares to with the impatient couple just downstairs, and drops his head to press his lips against Spinelli's one last time before they part ways, age difference be damned.

Spinelli kisses back and tries to claim a second when Jason pulls away, but the attempt fails, and Jason's hands land on his shoulders instead. There are words unsaid between them, but they stay that way because as of yet they never have been spoken aloud – and this, right now, when Spinelli is leaving, doesn't seem like a good time to start.

"I'll write you soon." Jason promises, and turns his back on the door that Spinelli walks though. He stays there, doesn't go downstairs to see him off, stands there in the pink room as the chatter downstairs turns into silence he's going to have trouble getting used to. He considers punching another wall, but figures Spinelli wouldn't approve, so he doesn't.


	3. Chapter 1

Worth The Wait

_**AU in that I entirely distort the timeline of events as it is known to have occurred. Not so much actual events, but moreso the details of people involved in them. Which reminds me. I suppose I have to warn for mentions of underage involvement. Nothing graphic or messy, I promise. Partially co-written with cynical_sweater and with lots and lots of aid courtesy of suerum. Edit: Te first two parts, the ones already posted, are the prolgue, this is the first real chapter. OC's are mine, recognizable characters are not. Reviews are loved. Enjoy!**_

* * *

**Chapter 1  
**

* * *

Oakfield is most definitely not home. It might have been once, a long time ago. But it's nowhere near it now. His father shoots him disapproving looks every so often, his mother looks at him like he's broken or about to shatter or something. His Granny seems okay with everything, all things considered, she seems glad to have him back, but it's still not home.

His room is mostly unchanged from how he'd left it when he'd taken his leave, with its navy blue walls and twin bed and cluttered hand-me-down desk. Posters on the wall of sports heroes he'd pretended to be interested in for his Dad's sake, pictures of kids from school who never really liked him anyway.

He rips most of it down and trashes it, clears off the desk and lets his laptop take up sole residence there, with the exception of a desk lamp and some pens and pencils. Doesn't unpack – he's still kind of in denial.

He sees his school backpack sitting right where he left it when he ran away, propped against the foot of his bed and he realizes in a panic then that his parents may well have plans to send him back to Oakfield High School, as, technically, his 39 college credits no longer really exist.

That will have to be his first project – going for a GED so he can leave high school behind him where it has been for the last two years, testing out of as many of his previously obtained credits as possible, so he doesn't have to retake them. Assuming his parents are amenable to his jumping into college.

"Damian," his mom calls, pushing the door to his room open after a brief warning knock. Something else he'll have to get used to. No one's called him Damian in a long time. "Would you come out here, please?"

With a sigh, he follows after her.

***

The penthouse is utterly foreign to him when it's silent. When Spinelli had first moved in with him, silence was all he'd wanted, but now he misses the sound of fingers flying across keys and the rambling Jackal-speak he has come to know and love.

He's become somewhat obsessed with checking his email – he's even figured out how to make the computer send alerts to his cell phone. Sonny seems confused by his sudden interest in technology, and his sudden perpetual state of distraction, but doesn't comment on either directly.

Those meetings he put off never really do get brought up again – the threat dies down to a level that's not really worth investigating, and Jason's not complaining. He hasn't been sleeping much anyway, isn't alert, focused. Not good things to lack when looking into rival mob fronts.

He sends a letter three days after Spinelli leaves, figures he'll be settled by then. The cipher site had been easy enough to figure out. Now he's just waiting for his response.

It doesn't come for another few days, a week since Spinelli left. He copies the new message into the website that Spinelli showed him, enters 'stonecold' as the passphrase and waits as it goes through the unscrambling process.

'**Stone Cold, the Jackal is adjusting well to life in Oakfield, but it is far from his true home at Casa de Stone Cold. The parental ones seem of the belief that I require some sort of psychiatric therapy because of our involvement, but my continued refusals have finally won out. The only thing affecting the mood and outlook of the Ace of Cyberspace is his separation from his soul mate, which they do not seem to comprehend. Your Jackal is in the processes of gaining credit for the college classes taken previously, which is proving to be a simple enough task. I shall endeavor to keep you updated and hope to hear from you again soon, as well.**

**Your Jackal**

**P.S. I'm sending one of your shirts back - sleep in it for a few days and return, if you will? It's the only method thus far that has been successful**.'

***

The one thing he doesn't mention to Jason – at least not yet, as he's still hoping he can somehow escape the horrible plan – is that his parents are all but demanding that he make himself available for the blind dates they plan to set him up on. Never mind that he's busy trying to unscramble his college career or get used to a life that he wants no part of. Never mind that he's already found the only person he wants to be with.

Alas, he is not victorious in his attempts to thwart their attempts at interfering with his already established love life. They hold the cards here, after all.

The first one, Caitlyn Blackburn, he knew growing up – elementary, middle school. They're the same age and she's blue eyed and blonde and arguably intelligent, but Spinelli does not care. She was hardly his biggest fan in school – he had a tendency for blowing the bell curve, the main reason pretty much everyone didn't like him – and that trend is still noticeable.

They go to a movie, though, because he has to at least pretend to make an effort to keep his parents off his back, and then he walks her home. He says virtually nothing the entire time and he plans to keep it that way.

She doesn't call him and he doesn't call her and that one ends swiftly.

After that, he tells Jason.

'**Stone Cold, the slightly demented parental ones have insisted upon setting your Jackal up on horrendous blind dates. I suppose they do not realize that I came with them to save you and not to escape you.**

**I'll call you later, so I can better explain this situation. Happy almost Birthday.**

**Your Jackal**'

It didn't go on for much longer than that, as his father came barging to his room to inquire as to how the date went. He sends Jason his message quickly and then lies to his dad.

***

After reading Spinelli's latest email, Jason feels compelled to fly out and drag Spinelli back to him, his parents and whatever blackmail they have be damned. They'll go to the island or something – somewhere where people won't interfere. He's only been out there for two weeks and they're already trying to get him to move on?

Despite this most alarming news, it's the latter part of the email that his attention focuses on. His phone stays by him all day, and finally, in the late afternoon, it rings.

'_Tis I, your Jackal, calling to wish you a Happy Birthday and to apologize profusely for not being able to be there to share it with you, Stone Cold._' Spinelli announces, when Jason answers his call. He's on a payphone somewhere between the college and home, a safe place to call from, he explains, at least until he purchases a cell phone for himself.

"I miss you, too." Jason assures him, and just hearing the younger's voice is calming. "What's all this about dates?"

'_It is but an exercise in endurance on my part, for putting up with the pointless activities has the simple purpose of mollifying the parental ones who are evidently in denial of my choices._' Spinelli explains, and goes on to tell Jason of the first failed attempt to get him to move on, tells Jason about the classes he tested out of and the ones he still has to study for. They both agree that trading the shirt back and forth is the only way either of them has been able to sleep, so they set it up like a cycle, with two shirts going back and forth, so they each always have one of them. '_Alas, I have to be back at the house by six, so I must get going. I shall be sure to email you again, soon._'

They say their goodbyes, more than a little reluctantly, and even though he's in possession of the shirt that night, Jason doesn't sleep.

***

His second blind date comes almost a month later, just after a lonely Valentine's Day spent alone in his room. It would have been their first one, but they're spending it states away from each other. He's not sure how into the holiday Jason would have been, but just the idea that he doesn't get to have it at all now is depressing enough.

This girl isn't one he knew from before. Her name is Lauren Castle, and she's just moved to Oakfield from Tallahassee with her family. She's brunette and blue eyed – he's noticing a trend with blue eyes, though none are as captivating as Jason's – and she's nice enough, really.

They go out for coffee and to study, and it goes… okay. Interesting conversation and whatnot. He stops at the PO Box he's rented out using a fake ID – so that he and Jason can safely swap t-shirts - on the way back and she confronts him over why he's being so secretive about it. He tells her it's none of her business.

Shockingly, he doesn't hear from her again.

***

Jason doesn't get a chance to speak to Spinelli for over a week. The leaderless mob that had been at work now has a leader and a purpose. The group, now led by well known thug Jeff Weston, has been raiding Corinthos-Morgan warehouses and launching attacks on incoming shipments. It's gotten chaotic, and during that at least, Jason is glad that Spinelli is out of the line of fire.

He gets shot one night, just a grazing hit against his side, while running recon on their new opponents, and opts against telling Spinelli about that.

***

Three days before his 17th birthday is date number three. Megan Killian, he suspects, was one of his parents more desperate attempts. She has neon red hair, wears white out contacts, and has at least four piercings in her ears and several others on her face. She is not typical Oakfield material. Then again, neither is he, so he figures that was their reasoning.

However, they clash horribly. She spends the first ten minutes of their trek into a teenager-friendly club complaining. He suggests playing pool – something he has missed doing with Jason – and begrudgingly she agrees. She's worse at it than he was before Jason trained him, and he tries to let her win, but he can't even pretend to be that bad and she just gets mad at him. It's a losing battle, he knows, so he gives up and goes to order drinks, instead. He really kind of misses Jake's about now, too. Coleman's teasing was entertaining, at least.

They find seats on one of the many sofas scattered about the place and she regales him with tales of her crazy high school shenanigans – things that are so terrifyingly below his maturity level that it's actually kind of hard to listen to. He tells her of his college coursework in return, and she scoffs as if he's boasting about it.

"Megan?" Someone calls, and both of their heads turn to see who spoke. A guy, older than them, probably 19 or 20, approaches. He's jock-looking, further established by the letterman jacket he's wearing, and he most certainly does not look happy.

Spinelli turns back to ask Megan what's going on, because he really does not want his face punched in, but he ends up discovering - against his will, he pointedly adds – that she has a tongue ring as well. She assaults him with a very sloppy kiss and he pushes her away before she can try again, but it's too late. The guy saw it and his hands curl into Spinelli's shirt collar, hauling him to his feet.

"Is _this_ the guy you've been cheating on me with?" The stranger asks, sounding more than slightly incredulous as he looks over his competition. What did his parents get him into?

"I, ugh, no, Brandon." Megan says, not very convincingly. "Really, don't hurt him."

However, her pathetic pleadings do nothing to stop him from getting punched in the face. He can already feel the beginnings of what will be a black eye by morning and really, he's glad that her boyfriend didn't do anything worse to him.

He hightails it out of there and heads back to the house and writes an email to Jason, but doesn't mention the black eye.


	4. Chapter 2

Worth The Wait

_**AU in that I entirely distort the timeline of events as it is known to have occurred. Not so much actual events, but moreso the details of people involved in them. Which reminds me. I suppose I have to warn for mentions of underage involvement. Nothing graphic or messy, I promise. Partially co-written with cynical_sweater and with lots and lots of aid courtesy of suerum. OC's are mine, recognizable characters are not. Reviews are loved. Enjoy!**_

* * *

**Chapter 2  
**

* * *

Spinelli's birthday comes, but Jason doesn't send an email. He knows Spinelli has class today, which is what he's counting on. He takes Sonny's private jet down to Tennessee early in the morning and waits for him to get out of class. It's been raining all day, and the weather says it's supposed to keep up for a while, which will likely offer the perfect excuse.

He spots Spinelli coming out of one of the buildings right on schedule, hood up, messenger bag held close to keep it from sopping up any unnecessary rainwater, eyes on the ground and not on his surroundings. He makes it too easy, really.

Jason sneaks up on him with a worrying amount of ease – turns out that's because he has iPod ear-buds firmly in place, but, still, that's even worse – and he reaches out, settles a hand on Spinelli's shoulder.

The kid jumps and spins around to face his would be attacker, but when he sees Jason instead the attack turns into what is more or less a desperate tackle of a hug. Spinelli buries his head against Jason's neck, and the fact that raining has turned to pouring is hardly an issue to either of them at this point.

"What're you doing here?" Spinelli finally asks, once he's pulled the buds from his ears. He's still pressed against Jason and has no immediate intention to change that.

Jason grins. "I wasn't going to miss your birthday, was I?"

Spinelli smiles back, digs his cell phone from his pocket, dials a number and motions for silence from Jason. "Dad? The rather inclement weather has made it difficult to navigate the road back to Oakfield, so perhaps it would be okay if I were to hang around on campus until the rain lets up?" The college is two towns over from Oakfield, a bit of a drive, but worth it for the school's computer programming reputation. A lull in the conversation, while Spinelli's father is speaking and then he's grinning like its Christmas. "Indeed, I think I'll perhaps take the opportunity to do some studying with some classmates, as well. Thank you."

It is then that Jason notices the bruise over Spinelli's eye. Possibilities flicker through his head, but he can question it once they're warm and dry in the rental car Jason requisitioned. He tosses an arm over Spinelli's shoulder, avoidant of his own nearly healed wound, and they head to the parking lot.

"Who hit you?" Jason asks, the second they clamber into the car.

"The blind date from three days ago? She had a boyfriend. My parents need to check their resources before they try to set these nonsensical proceedings into effect." The younger answers, rubbing at the purplish yellow bruise self-consciously.

He's not happy about this at all. Spinelli getting away from bad situations was the one plus side of having him out of Port Charles – his parents setting him up for them was not conductive to keeping that idea alive. Still, better the black eye than the bullet wound that he's hiding.

"How goes the business, if the Jackal may inquire? That's been the one aspect you haven't mentioned in your messages."

"You know that group of thugs that was around when you left?" Spinelli nods, he remembers. "They've taken over one of the warehouses and a few of the piers. It's heading toward full scale war over the territory. In some ways, I'm glad you're not in Port Charles right now." He admits, though he hadn't planned to.

Spinelli frowns at the news. He's been keeping up with Port Charles news sites, but none have mentioned the up and coming mob presence. "Have there been any attacks against you or Mr. Sir directly?"

He doesn't want to tell Spinelli. Really. It won't help anything at all to tell him the truth. But he does, because he should know what he's getting into –as if he didn't know that already. If he wants to bail on their not-relationship because of this new threat, then he should have all the information available. He tugs the base of his t-shirt up to reveal the gauze covered wound, and waits in silence for the reaction he knows he's going to get.

"When did… Why didn't you inform your Jackal of this rather noteworthy injury, Stone Cold?" Spinelli asks, and on instinct, reaches out, fingers brushing over the edges of the bandage and the skin around it.

He hadn't been prepared for that, though, the touching. He stills, lets Spinelli do whatever he wants to. "It wasn't that bad, just a flesh wound, is all. I was only in the ER for an hour or so."

Spinelli looks less than soothed by this information. Jason injured is Jason injured, something of which he most definitely does not approve. "That's hardly the point. For the moment, I am equally glad that you are not currently in Port Charles, either."

"I can't stay, Spinelli, you know that." The elder responds. He wishes he could but he has to help protect Michael and Morgan and everyone else. Has to help neutralize this threat, as well, so that it will be safe for Spinelli when he comes home. "I'm going back late tonight."

"Well, then I suppose I can at least enjoy knowing that you're safe for the next few hours." He concludes sadly, lets his fingers fall away from the covered wound.

Jason shakes his head. "None of that. It's your birthday, so be happy, or you won't get your presents."

"Present_s_?" He questions, eyebrow raised in confusion.

He pulls a bag from the backseat, trash-bag sized and apparently filled to the brim with wrapped packages and cards. "I'm not the only one in Port Charles who misses you, you know." He says by way of explanation. "I've got a hotel room downtown. We can go and relax there, you can open your presents. I'll drive you back here when you have to go."

Spinelli nods in agreement and Jason shifts the car into 'drive'.

***

The hotel is big and fancy, so their arrival is hardly noticed amongst the hustle and bustle of high rollers and such.

Jason has room service delivered for them, along with one utterly amazing looking cake, as well. They enjoy their meal in comfortable silence, but dessert is a much more fun-filled affair, though not in the ways that it would have been prior to Spinelli's parent's unexpected visit four months previous.

Dessert ends in what is more or less a rather benign food fight, started when Spinelli playfully flicks a bit of icing at Jason, who retaliates with his own piece of cake. It gets a bit messy, but nothing they can't hide or explain away when they leave, so neither minds.

Still munching on cake, Spinelli opens his gifts. Cards from various people – Lulu, Monica, Max & Milo, Diane, Carly, Robin & Patrick, Mike, Dante, several neighbors from the Harbor View Towers, even Sonny added to the pile. Some had letters included as well, to which he would have to go through and reply to later. One wrapped box contains a designer shirt from some line Crimson's been representing from Maxie, a gift card to a local store with a note informing him that he is to purchase vast amounts of orange soda from Coleman, some action movies Johnny had recommended he check out several months prior, a pillow shaped like a laptop from Molly, and a video game from Michael & Morgan.

There's just one gift left, and Jason has made sure that it's the last one. He watches intently as Spinelli peels the paper away on the small box, but before he can open it, Jason's hand closes over his. "Before you open that… I know we've never actually said it, but I love you, you know that, right?"

Spinelli grins and nods and says it back, like he's wanted to do for months now, and if they weren't still operating within the rules of 'no kissing, no touching, no anything' that currently dictate their relationship, he would most definitely be inclined to.

As it stands, though, Jason releases his hand, and Spinelli opens the box.

"Stone Cold?" He prompts, but is otherwise wide eyed and incapable of further verbal response.

Inside the box is a simple gold band and it means exactly what Spinelli thinks it means. The glint of some sort of engraving catches his eye and he extricates the ring from its resting spot to investigate further. Turning the band to read its interior message, the words 'Worth the wait…' are revealed.

Jason swallows and looks away, prepares to do something he's not accustomed to doing and say everything that needs to be said before he has to leave again. "You… you're it for me, okay?" He starts, awkwardly as he works his way into the speech. "Forever, there's no one else I want to be with. Just you. And that's why… We can do this, we can make it through the next 365 days. We'll come out of it stronger and we'll never have to be apart again, so long as I can help it. A year from now, when you can come home? There is nothing on this planet that's keeping me away from you after that." He takes the ring from Spinelli's hand. "You're my family, my friend… and I'll wait however long I have to get you to be more than that, because it will be entirely worth it."

Having never heard such premeditated and heartfelt words from his Stone Cold, Spinelli finds himself struck speechless. He watches Jason slide the ring onto a chain – because they both know he can't wear it around his parents – and then he slides the chain over Spinelli's head. It's then that he notices a twin chain around Jason's neck, likely with a twin ring, as well. He reaches out, still awestruck by the evening's occurrences, and tugs at the necklace. The ring is the same as his, but has no inscription. He suspects that part's being left up to him for the future.

Eventually, after several more moments of uncooperative behavior between his mouth and brain, Spinelli gives up, decides words are pointless, for once, and shifts so that he can wrap his arms around Jason instead. He's careful of the gunshot wound on Jason's side, and the elder's arms curl around him as well.

They stay that way for a long while, seems like they're never going to let go. They lay down on the bed for a while, too, relaxing before they have to say goodbye again – not something either is looking forward to – curled up in each other's arms the way they were the day Spinelli left.

Here, alone in the safety of the hotel room, Jason chances breaking one of the rules again. He slips his hand behind Spinelli's neck, pulls him close, and they kiss for a long moment before Jason pulls away. He rests his forehead against Spinelli's, says the three words - that he's never going to be able to say enough - again, and adds one more kiss for good measure.

Eventually though, it ends. It has to, sadly, as all good things do. Spinelli packs up his gifts, stuffs as much of it as he can into his backpack, with the only exceptions being the laptop pillow, which is too big to fit, and the ring - which he's not taking off anytime soon - hidden by his shirt.

They leave the hotel behind in Jason's rental car and head back to the campus. Jason pulls up beside Spinelli's car and shifts into 'park'. "I'll email you when I get back to the penthouse." He promises, as Spinelli reluctantly leaves the car and moves to his own. He sets his bag on the passenger seat and drives off after another exchange of goodbyes.


	5. Chapter 3

Worth The Wait

_**AU in that I entirely distort the timeline of events as it is known to have occurred. Not so much actual events, but moreso the details of people involved in them. Which reminds me. I suppose I have to warn for mentions of underage involvement. Nothing graphic or messy, I promise. Partially co-written with cynical_sweater and with lots and lots of aid courtesy of suerum. OC's are mine, recognizable characters are not. Reviews are loved. Enjoy!**_

* * *

**Chapter 3  
**

* * *

Three weeks later and they set Spinelli up on another blind date. He hopes they checked the 'already spoken for' angle this time, but he doesn't suspect that they did. After all, they're ignoring his feelings on the matter entirely anyway.

Regan Weston is his age, with brown hair and blue eyes. She's also in college, but not as far into it as he is – a given since he's had a couple years to get ahead of the game – and they go to some local bowling alley to hang out.

She's… okay. They make fun of the fact that they both have horror movie names – Damien, of the Omen, and Regan, of the Exorcist (but then again, Jason falls into this category, too) – and they get along pretty well.

They play two games and Spinelli loses both with grace because Jason trained him at pool, not at bowling, and he's definitely not naturally good at bowling.

He plays with his necklace close to constantly without even realizing it and eventually she questions his relentlessly compulsive behavior. Spinelli tucks it back into his shirt but she keeps pressing. He can't tell her the truth – not if he's playing along with this charade and wants to keep his parents in the dark – he can't just tell her that his adult, mobster boyfriend gave it to him. "Someone… very important to me gave it to me recently." He says instead, which is true enough. Thankfully, Regan drops the issue after that.

They head out to Spinelli's car so that he can take her home, but he notices some odd and out of place characters lurking about outside. Once they're in the car, he makes sure the doors are locked and the windows rolled up – precaution, Jason's taught him this as well, as has the internet.

None of the shady looking folks seem to follow him, for which he is quite glad, so he takes Regan home and makes sure she's safely inside before he drives off.

Unfortunately, it is then that he realizes he is not alone. There's a black four door sedan trailing in the distance. It sticks with him for a few blocks and he's no longer even thinking of going back to his parent's house.

"This would have to happen, wouldn't it?" He asks himself as he checks his mirror again. Still there, closer. He thinks back to an article he read about how to lose a suspected tail. Figuring out if you have a tail is mostly about driving like you're an idiot, Spinelli remembers the article claiming. He speeds up a bit, and the car does the same a moment later, or else it would risk losing him. He slows down, which forces his shadow to do the same. Speeds up again, signals a left-hand turn at a four way stop, but turns right. A moment passes and the car reappears. At the next four way, he doesn't signal at all and wings it left.

He pulls out his secretly acquired cell phone, puts it on speaker so he doesn't have to hold it while navigating his escape, and calls Jason. It rings for what seems like eternity and no answer, no reassuring voice telling him how to get out of this situation, comes.

He's totally on his own.

"Damn it, damn it, damn it…" He chants, as the car moves closer than ever. He's continued driving like a moron, but as of yet, it hasn't been successful. Losing a tail isn't about driving fast. A high speed pursuit is just going to land on you on the 6 o'clock news. You keep making stupid moves until the other guy makes a mistake.

He blows through a stop sign, hoping for a cop to appear. Nothing. He speeds up again, drives the wrong way down a one-way street and then signals right. He figures that his follower will figure he's not going to go right, so he does. He made the right call. He tries Jason again. Still no answer.

The Oakfield police station is only a few blocks away from him now – which is what his goal has been since he realized he couldn't go home – but another car, identical to its predecessor, appears, boxing him between the two. He has nowhere to go now.

Out of options, he plans to get out and run for the safety of the police station, but then both the passenger and driver side doors are blocked by the same shady looking characters he'd seen at the bowling alley. One, with gun in hand, aims at him. He turns away, but it turns out that he's only using it to break out the window. Glass shatters, a couple pieces scratch Spinelli's face.

"Thought you could lose us, huh?" The guy who broke his window demands, obviously irritated that their mark didn't readily give himself up. He reaches through the shattered remnants of both the window and Spinelli's last shreds of hope, to unlock and open the door, and once it is, he grabs Spinelli by the collar of his shirt and hauls him out.

Spinelli pretends he isn't terrified. "The Jackal demands that this brutality end at once!" He bravely declares, though even he knows it's pointless. Another man holds him still and pulls his arms behind his back, where they're zip-tied at his wrist.

The Glass-Breaker spots the glimmer of gold on his neck, the attack having nudged it out from under his shirt. "This from Morgan, then?" He asks, though he's obviously not interested in an answer, as he tugs the chain from around his neck. He tosses the necklace and ring into the car amongst the broken glass. "You won't need it anymore."

"This… is about Stone Cold?" Spinelli asks, looking pale now. They're going to use him to get to Jason and it will work.

The Arm-Tier walks him over to one of the cars that tailed him. He's rather roughly pushed and shoved and otherwise manhandled into the trunk and once he's there he's further bound and gagged. They empty his pockets – taking his cell phone and wallet. He watches them smash the former object into several dozen pieces. For mobster thugs, they're surprisingly thorough.

***

Jason's already on high alert when his cell phone rings. He hopes its Spinelli – he's concerned over the two calls he'd missed last night, but a meeting with Sonny out in one of the more unused warehouses hadn't provided him with a signal – which served to remind him why it was unused.

"Hello?" He doesn't recognize the number, he figures it might be another payphone.

It isn't Spinelli. At least not his Spinelli. The unfortunately familiar voice of Daniel Spinelli reaches his hears. "_Morgan_!" He shouts, sounding almost surprised. "_I should have known_!"

He considers hanging up, but he figures there has to be a reason for this unprecedented event. "Why are you calling me?"

"_Hah! Like you don't know_!" Still with the shouting, Jason shakes his head. "_You took Damian again, didn't you_?"

Jason is about to point out that he never 'took' Spinelli in the first place – at least not from them – when the words sink in. "What do you mean 'took'?' He's missing?" He demands, sounding more desperate for answers than Daniel does.

"_Again, I find it difficult to believe that you don't already know this, given that he called this number twice last night, and right around the time we think he disappeared_."

Spinelli's calls, the one's he hadn't gotten, had been from when he disappeared? Jason feels his hands curl into fists on instinct. Spinelli had probably tried to call him for help and… and he hadn't been there. "I swear I don't have Spinelli with me. I'm flying down there as soon as I can."

"_Oh, for Heaven's sake, don't try and fool me into thinking this isn't some big scam that you…_" But Jason isn't listening, in fact, he's already hung up. He calls up Sonny's private jet and demands that they be wheel's up in thirty minutes.

***

"Could this plan get any more screwed up?" The Glass-Breaker roars. He kicks the now flat tire of the four door sedan in aggravation. The other car has gone to find a replacement car for them to use, and, as such, the kid had been left with he and one other guy. On top of this new setback, they'd hit a landslide site late in the night and their advantage of time had all but been eliminated.

The stupid kid was just as annoying. First he'd made them drive all over the place trying to catch him. Then they'd drugged him when he started making a fuss, tried to sedate him, but it had only succeeded in making him violently ill. They'd had to take the gag off and keep him in the backseat, so he didn't end up choking to death before they get back. Dead bodies are not typically good leverage.

All in all, things are not going well for them.

"We'll have to call the boss. We're supposed to be back in New York soon." The second man says.

"Yeah, that's great." Glass-Breaker sighs. "That's just what else I need right now."

Spinelli, hearing all this from his spot on the backseat, hidden mostly beneath a blanket, is not enjoying the road trip. With being sick from the drug they'd dosed him with, he has no chance of escape.

"About damn time." Glass-Breaker complains, and the sound of another car approaching reaches their captives ears. The one who tied his arms drags him out of the car and into a black SUV. Glass-Breaker and the second man claim the front seats, and the Arm-Tier climbs in the back with him. The last guy doesn't get in.

"Lie down and stay quiet, kid." Arm-Tier tells him. "Don't even think about puking on me, either."

***

Spinelli's parents and a police officer are waiting for him when he shows up at the house Spinelli's been staying at for the last four and a half months. The cop tries to arrest him on sight.

"I didn't take him!" Jason yells, struggling out of the officer's grip on him. "If I had, why would I have come down here? If I had done it, I would have been long gone, on an island or something with him where you wouldn't find us. Why would I still be here?"

The cop frowns in thought. It would be pretty stupid for him to come down here if he had been responsible. He's heard of Jason Morgan – stupid does not really level with that information. Of course, 'involved with a minor' was a bit of a surprise, too. "You got an alibi, then?"

Jason closes his eyes in frustration. 'Why, yes, officer, I was at a mob get-together discussing how to best eliminate the newest threat in town' probably won't do him much good. "Check the flight logs; check the security on my building in Port Charles. I was not in Oakfield last night."

"You don't go anywhere until I confirm that."

He sighs – he's wasting time standing around here doing nothing – and tries to get some answers. "Where was he last night? What was he doing?" He asks of Daniel and Lisa, but he doubts that they'll tell him anything.

Lisa scoffs. "Why on earth would we tell you?"

"Because whoever took him did it because of me. I'm the only one who can find him." He explains, and then decides to play one of the cards up his sleeve. "I know he was out on one of your insane blind dates, he told me that. He didn't come back?"

They both look infuriated and alarmed that he's been talking to their son despite the distance. "How were you talking to him? We made it clear that he was to break all contact with you when we brought him home."

"Through email." They really hadn't thought Spinelli would contact him? "Did he come back last night, or not?"

Daniel frowns, shakes his head. "He didn't. He dropped off his date, whom he apparently had a wonderful time with, and drove off. She was the last one to see him." He watches Jason's reactions to his statement, looks for signs that this news upsets him. None comes.

"Who is 'she'?" Jason continues his interrogation.

"Why? So you can go harass her for pursuing a normal relationship with my son?" Lisa defends, and clearly neither of them understands the severity of the situation. "I think not."

He drags a hand down his face in exasperation. "Look, if you… If you tell me what I need to know, I will find Spinelli for you and I will disappear. I will never contact Spinelli again; I will never bother you again. I want him safe, and as long as I don't know who has him – because somebody, not me, does have him – he is not safe." Jason pauses, lets them take in his words – which he will keep to, if that's what it takes to keep Spinelli safe at the end of all this – before he continues. "So, who was he with last night?"

"A lovely girl his age. Regan Weston is her name." Lisa answers, seeming most appeased by the man's words. "She lives-"

Weston. Regan Weston. Jeff Weston. This is not a coincidence. "Damn it." He growls, already pulling out his cell phone. He steps away from them, calls Sonny. "Did you do what you were planning last night?"

"_The wire tap? Yeah. The less-talky but less-effective computer guy set it up after you left. Why?_" Sonny inquires, referring to Spinelli's less than adequate replacement. "_What's going on?_"

"Spinelli's missing. Weston has him. Have there been any calls?"

"_Not yet, no. I'll keep on it and let you know_." Sonny assures him, ending the call.

Lisa laughs at him. "You think a seventeen year old did this?"

Jason shakes his head. "No, I think she's related to someone who did." He looks to the cop whose been chatting on the radio, notes the absence of Spinelli's car in the driveway. "They didn't find Spinelli's car anywhere? If he dropped this girl off at home, wouldn't he have been driving, still?"

"The police are still looking. They'll call us when they find it."

***

Spinelli is fighting another massive wave of nausea when they roll up to the roadblock. For a minute, he thinks it's about him, that he's a missing person already and he's saved, but it turns out that the road is closed due to a risk of flash flood –another effect of the nearby landslide.

Glass-Breaker, in the driver's seat, curses quite colorfully. Spinelli groans, his head is pounding and his stomach just feels like it's trying to escape.

The cop catches sight of him through the window. "That kid alright?"

"He's sick, we were on our way to the doctor." Arm-Tier lies, one arm pressing a knife against his chest beneath the blanket, just in case he gets any ideas. It probably looks like the guy is rubbing his arm reassuringly.

"I'm sorry, but you'll have to go another way, this one's closed." He reiterates, and, with more curses from Glass-Breaker, they turn around again.


	6. Chapter 4

Worth The Wait

_**AU in that I entirely distort the timeline of events as it is known to have occurred. Not so much actual events, but moreso the details of people involved in them. Which reminds me. I suppose I have to warn for mentions of underage involvement. Nothing graphic or messy, I promise. Partially co-written with cynical_sweater and with lots and lots of aid courtesy of suerum. OC's are mine, recognizable characters are not. Reviews are loved. Enjoy!**_

* * *

**Chapter 4  
**

* * *

The car shows up an hour later, around the time when Jason's presence in Port Charles is finally confirmed. He's on video, flight manifests for Sonny's jet show only this trip – although he's already anticipating questions over his visit three week previous – and a couple of witnesses vouch for him.

After several moments of wasted time spent arguing, the cop allows Jason to come along to see the car. It's near the park, which is near the police station. The driver's side window is busted in, with flecks of blood on some pieces of the glass. Remnants of what might have once been a cell phone are a few feet away, near some acceleration marks from another car.

Aside from the blood, the thing Jason zeroes in on is the ring.

"This mean something to you?" The investigating officer inquires, holding it up with a gloved hand to show the missing boy's parents after he snaps a few photos. They both shake their head. "Says 'Worth the wait…' inside?" Still nothing, but Daniel's eyes land on Jason.

He tugs his own from where it's hidden by his shirt. "I gave it to him."

"When?" Lisa demands. "I never saw it, when did you give it to him?"

They're going to find out he was here sooner or later, better do it now before they think he's hiding things. "His birthday. I flew down here for a few hours. We had dinner, and cake, and I gave him a bag of presents from people who care about him at home, and the ring."

Daniel is fuming, which isn't surprising, really. "He told me that he was stuck on campus, staying to study. He was with _you_? What'd you do to him after you got him to lie to me? Talk him into this insane plan?"

"There is no plan, okay? I did not take Spinelli, I did not convince him to run away. It was not me." He gestures to the officer who confirmed his alibi. "I wasn't here and every second I spend convincing you of that, is one more second he's in danger. Do you want your son back? Alive?"

"Dan, he's right." Lisa presses, a hand landing on her husband's arm to reign him in. "If he doesn't have Damian, then someone else does. It doesn't matter who lied about what if we don't get him back, does it?"

Jason stares at her. "I can go?"

She nods her approval, looks to the police officers for confirmation, who seem entirely at a loss for what to do in this situation. Eventually one of the uniformed officers sighs in agreement.

Armed with the go ahead he needed, he takes off.

***

The effects of the drug finally start to wear off as they double back for the second time. They stop at some diner and Glass-Breaker runs in to get food. He's still zip-tied, but not gagged, so long as he behaves, they say. Arm-Tier feeds him and they discuss the newest route. The mountainous routes had been attempted for their remoteness, but now they'll be on the main road – the one he and Jason took when Jason came to get him just after they met.

While they're eating in the parking lot, the as of yet nickname-less one amongst his kidnappers makes a call to their boss. It goes something along the lines of "Yes, boss. We're very sorry, boss. I know we were supposed to be back already, boss, but there was a landslide and a flash flood and the kid got sick… No, boss. Okay, boss. We'll be waiting there, boss."

All in all, to Spinelli, it is very uninformative.

***

It's a very good thing the call comes in because Jason, despite his assurances that he could and would find Spinelli, has no idea where to start. It's bad enough that it's all his fault that Spinelli's been taken. In fact, he'd probably lured Weston to Spinelli with his visit. If Spinelli's hurt…

"What?" He snaps into the phone, rather understandably on edge.

"A c_all came in on Weston's line. Lots of blabbering about having to change routes by one of your boy's kidnappers. He says something about Spinelli being sick, too. It sounds like they're going to meet Weston somewhere in Tennessee._" Sonny summarizes for him. "_The computer guy says it originated from a small town called Springs Den, about forty minutes out of Oakfield._"

Jason recognizes the name, he remembers driving through it the first time he'd ever come down here. "I know where that is," He says, fighting the urge to go faster – getting pulled over will not help him, after all. "Call if anything else comes through, and have the computer guy check into any flights that Weston might come in on."

"_I'll get on it._" He hears Sonny say, and ends the call.

***

Arm-Tier cuts the tie around his ankles and marches him at knife-point into some rundown, abandoned house. Spinelli vaguely recognizes the area and frowns in confusion. Despite how long they've been driving, how long they've had him, they're not even an hour away from Oakfield.

"You sure he wanted us here?" Glass-Breaker presses, checking the address that Weston texted to them after the call. "This place is… kind of a dump."

"It's not like we could walk the kid into the Ritz or anything without him getting recognized. I'm sure they've noticed he's gone by now." The third man, Boss-Caller, Spinelli nicknames him, reminds his comrades with a roll of his eyes. "Tie his feet again, we don't need any more problems."

***

It doesn't take long to get out to Springs Den, but Jason drives through. He has no way of knowing whether Spinelli's still there or not, doesn't have the time to risk looking just yet, but he does know that there's an airport not ten minutes from the small town.

He stops in the airport's parking lot, calls Sonny. "Anything on the flight manifests?"

"_Still looking. I will say this for Spinelli's computer skills, they're much better and faster than this guy's._" Any other time Jason would have been both pleased and surprised by Sonny's compliment of Spinelli's talents, but now it doesn't matter. If the tech geek they'd found to fill in for Spinelli while he was away can't find the information needed, he'll likely have the job permanently, and that just isn't going to happen.

"Check aliases, check suspicious names, private jets, everything coming in near Oakfield or Springs Den." He urges, stays on the line as he watches for Weston. At least he knows what his opponent looks like.

"_What's your plan?"_

"Grab Weston, use him as leverage to get Spinelli back." He explains quickly. "Anything yet?"

He hears a yelled '_God, I'm working on it, jeez!_' in the background and he figures Sonny might have been a little pushy in his questioning, which Jason doesn't mind right now. "_I'd take that as a 'no'._" Sonny adds.

There's no way Weston can be here yet, even if he left the second the call went through. It's a ninety minute flight, plus drive time to the airport in Port Charles, plus however long it took to get on the plane. He probably has another hour, at the least.

He resigns himself to the wait, opts to make the most of it.

***

They tie him up again, bind his ankles and knees with the annoying and effective plastic ties so he has no chance of running away, gag him again now that he's officially not sick anymore, and then they secure him to a chair. He is effectively immobilized. Yet another point to his regrettably thorough kidnappers.

"The boss'll be landing soon." Glass-Breaker informs his associates after his cell phone buzzes with an alert. He nods to Arm-Tier with silent orders to go.

That's another oddly professional aspect of their behavior. They never use names. Whoever hired them for this job knew that they knew what they were doing.

Spinelli watches them all with trepidation, fidgeting as much as his binds will allow. He wonders if Jason's been informed by now that he's missing, if his parents even bothered to let him know. If they find his car, his ring, chances are that they would, if only to accuse him, but that would be enough to get Jason to start looking.

His wondering is answered when the phone buzzes again in Glass-Breakers hand and he reads the new message with an unnerving grin. "The Boss says Morgan flew down here earlier today, so keep an eye out."

They don't seem terribly disturbed by this news. Spinelli's beginning to wonder if Jason's walking into a trap.

***

He's already made a quick run to a couple of nearby stores to stock up on items he'll need to pull this stunt off. Following that, he staked out the airport, checked its entry and exit points, which are both numerous, though not overwhelmingly so. Security isn't…. terribly good. Cameras, some guards, lots of potential witnesses. He'll have to be careful not to be seen committing his crime.

He's doing one last walk around before he settles in to wait when his cell phone rings. Sonny.

"_He was using an alias, but what's-his-name finally tracked it. He's coming in on Flight 422, it lands in 20 minutes at Gate C."_ Sonny explains, relaying the information their less than spectacular computer tech provided him.

"I'll call you if I need anything else." Jason says, already walking towards Gate C. It's not terribly busy in this area, just over a dozen people milling about in waiting, but Jason surveys them all carefully anyway. An older couple off in the corner, a woman and two young children, a very bored looking teenage girl bobbing her head to music, a man and a woman dressed in professional looking business suits with briefcases at their feet, both on laptops. There's a trio of boy scouts and two chaperones with them, and there's a lone man in casual wear who keeps glancing at his watch.

The problem lies in spotting which people are waiting for someone to arrive and those waiting to board. The business ones, the scouts, the teenager, he's betting they're here to board. Everyone else is harder to figure out.

Investigating further, he walks through, acting like he's going to claim a seat on the opposite wall. He rules out the older couple, they have carry-on bags set at their sides, and the mom and children, he hears one of the kids inquire as to when Grandma is going to show up. Not what he's after. He has one possibility left. The man in casual wear who's obsessed with the time – he has no bags with him.

Likely working for Weston, he presumes.

He leaves again, can't risk being made by Weston's man on the ground. Once he's out of view, he calls Sonny. "Have him hack the security footage at the airport. I'm going to send a picture to your phone, I need to know what kind of car the guy in it drove here. Fast." He hangs up before Sonny can agree to his request, takes a photo with his phone – and he's rather glad Spinelli showed him how the damn thing worked – and sends it to Sonny's cell.

After thirty seconds, he calls back. "Get it?"

"_Yup, amazingly, he's got the footage up and running already, we're looking now._" Jason hears typing in the background, waits impatiently as he watches the clock. There's only about ten more minutes before the plane lands. "_It's kind of hard to tell, there's not a very good view of the parking lot, but it's an SUV, dark – black or blue. We can't make out a license plate."_

"Is it parked close?" He makes for the main entrance, back out to the parking lot.

"_About half way down, I'd guess. In the aisle directly across from the main door_."

The car is his best bet for grabbing Weston. He can't do it in the airport, too many people around, too many ways to escape. And he doesn't want to risk attempting to tail them – losing them would lose him his only lead.

He spots the car right where Sonny says it will be. A black SUV with Tennessee plates, blankets are tossed on the back seat, but there's no evidence that Spinelli was ever in it, at least from out here.

Jason makes one quick run back to his rental car, makes sure it's readily accessible for when he returns with his captive. Since they're most definitely not in Port Charles anymore – which means he can't count on being able to get away with everything under the sun – he plans to incapacitate whoever approaches the car, not kill. So, for such purposes, he digs a taser from his bag of recent purchases and returns to the SUV.

The plane should be landing any moment now.

***

Spinelli watches Glass-Breaker and Boss-Caller play poker on a small table in what looks to have once been the kitchen of the decrepit and derelict house. Boss Caller isn't terribly good at it, and Glass-Breaker takes full advantage of this. It makes watching them significantly less interesting, but it's really the only thing he has to do other than count the cracks in the ceiling.

"I fold." Boss-Caller grumbles, tossing his hand on the table, which, given his straight, isn't a typically recommended move. He holds up his cell phone. "The plane's just landed. Right on schedule."

Glass-Breaker nods and gathers up the cards again. "Go check the area again, make sure Morgan's not around."

His arms ache from the angle they're tied at behind the back of the chair, and the plastic tie on his wrists is starting to cut into his skin from his shifting, but he's almost got it undone and that's progress he can't afford to lose.

At this point, he's all but positive that whatever is going on here is a trap, and he refuses to allow Jason to walk into it on his behalf. If he can escape on his own, then his Stone Cold will be spared, and that's what he's aiming for in this messy situation.

"No sign of anything out of the ordinary." Boss Caller returns to report.

***

Two figures approach the black SUV, chatting professionally as they cross the parking lot. The one not in jeans, Weston, Jason dares to assume, has no bags either. This is going to be the tricky part.

"You think Morgan's close?" The jean-clad man inquires of his companion. "We haven't seen any trace of him yet." We, Jason notes. There's more than this one guy in on it.

The voice that replies is Weston's, he's glad to note, and neither of them suspect his presence. "He'll do something soon, I'm sure. If he hasn't already."

Which he has. He's already cut the serpentine belt of the car, which effectively pretty much kills the engine in the event that they actually get the chance to get it started, and he's more than ready to strike, as soon as they get within range.

Weston steps to the passenger's side door, and the one wearing jeans to the driver's side.

This has to go down fast.

He reaches out from where he's been hiding underneath the SUV, taser in hand. He makes sure he's got the thing pressed against skin and lets the device do its work. Weston shakes and falls backwards with the shock, against the car parked beside the SUV – the alarm goes off, which is just fantastic – and all of this effectively refocuses the other's attention. The jean clad figure runs around to see what has befallen his boss.

"Damn it, what happened?" He demands, leaning over to shake Weston slightly. He's not reacting well to his employer going down on his watch.

Jason rolls out on the driver's side, where no one now stands, quickly climbs to his feet and circles around. He uses the taser again, this time on the second man. He thumps the jean clad figure's head against the side of the car with a reasonable amount of force and lets him fall. Quickly, he confiscates the goon's cell phone.

Weston is already trying to get back to his feet by this point, so Jason helps him, hauls him back towards the rental car. He has duct tape amongst his supplies, so he restrains Weston and tosses him in the trunk for now. Driving out of the airport parking lot, he grins.

Step One: Accomplished.


	7. Chapter 5

Worth The Wait

_**AU in that I entirely distort the timeline of events as it is known to have occurred. Not so much actual events, but moreso the details of people involved in them. Which reminds me. I suppose I have to warn for mentions of underage involvement. Nothing graphic or messy, I promise. Partially co-written with cynical_sweater and with lots and lots of aid courtesy of suerum. OC's are mine, recognizable characters are not. Reviews are loved. Enjoy!**_

* * *

**Chapter 5  
**

* * *

Jason drives his hostage to a nearby park that isn't seeing much activity at the moment and pulls Weston from the trunk.

"Where's Spinelli?" He demands, leveling his gun at the man even though they both know he won't fire so long as his captive can be used as leverage. "I know you have him, and now I have you, so talk."

Weston smirks at him, a cocky, knowing grin that makes Jason want to punch him in the face just to get rid of it. "You mean that talkative boy whom my niece quite enjoyed spending time with last night? She spoke so highly of him, but I'm sure I have no idea where he could _possibly_ be. He talked about you, I heard. He told her that someone of great import to him had recently given him a ring. Which is funny, I thought, since I was under the impression that you were keeping your distance until he no longer qualified as jail bait."

He gives in, punches him. A few bruises and a split lip won't make him less valuable leverage.

"You know," Weston glowers at him, face contorting briefly in pain. He shakes his head, clears the cobwebs, and then he's back to his speech. "That wasn't very nice. Who knows what my men are doing to your boy as we speak, and you're here wasting your time with me. It was you who led me to him, I hope you're aware. I'd tried to find him before, but when you took off – on his birthday, very subtle, by the way – I knew I finally had the power."

Jason tries not to think of what they could be doing to him because of him. He's been trying not to think of that since he heard the news. "Where is he?"

Weston ignores his repeated inquiry, cranes his neck to see Jason's watch. "If I don't call my men soon, it won't matter much where he is now. If I fall out of contact, they have orders to kill him and dispose of his body. You'll never see him again."

"Why did you take him?" Jason asks, tries a different approach, because he's not ready to give in to Weston's manipulation just yet. "You want me out of your way, I get that. Why not go after me directly? What would you have asked for if your plan had gone smoothly? A trade, my life for his, or did that even matter? Would you have been satisfied if I just walked away from the business?"

He scoffs. "I don't leave loose ends. If this had gone smoothly, you both would have been dead and gone. Corinthos can't defend your territory on his own; it's always been you doing the hard work. It would have only been a matter of time before it was all mine." Weston shrugs as if there isn't a gun in his face. "Really, I'm serious about that call. They're going to kill him if they don't hear from me."

Jason reluctantly pulls the phone he lifted off of Weston's goon from his pocket. "Number?" Weston rattles off the digits and Jason sets it to speaker. "One word about your current situation and I kill you. Same goes for any orders to hurt him." He warns as the phone rings.

"Duly noted." Weston snarks.

***

The shrill ring of the phone in the previous silence of the room startles Spinelli. Glass-Breaker and Boss-Caller are both looking rather anxious – likely by lack of contact since Arm-Tier's last message, and it's making him nervous by proxy.

Glass-Breaker grabs up the ringing cell phone quickly, snaps it open. "Where are you?"

He's hovering near Spinelli when the reply comes, so he can just make out the words. "_The plane was delayed. I'll be on my way shortly._" A new voice, not Arm-Tier, assures, and the call is ended.

"Boss says the plane was late." Glass-Breaker reports, looking to his cohort suspiciously. "But it landed on time, did it not?"

"It did. I got a message confirming it on my phone."

Both of his captives turn to look at him, then, which is more unnerving than their anxious attitudes had been. Now there's an air to them that is most concerning. They hadn't really harmed him up till now, but perhaps now that Jason had acted against them that would change.

Glass-Breaker looks to Boss-Caller. "You know what to do."

***

"So, enlighten me, Morgan – because I must say, I'm curious." Weston hums in apparent boredom, as if he isn't terribly bothered by the fact that he's taped up in his enemy's car. "Why are you hooking up with a teenager? I never figured that for your style. For as much as you are a stone cold killing machine, you're a surprisingly moral one, otherwise."

Jason's grip tightens on the steering wheel, he stares straight ahead. "I didn't know."

Weston throws his head back and laughs at that. "Oh, ho. 'Ignorance is no excuse' isn't that what they say?"

He doesn't give in to the baiting this time, stays silent in his stoic stone cold way and drives.

"Oh, come on, don't get all pissy now. We've got another ten minutes before we get there. You should keep me entertained or else I'll have to start singing or something – and then you'll really want to kill me." Jason is most displeased to see that the arrogant grin is back in place on the other's face.

***

Spinelli sits in what can only be described as absolute terror as he watches Boss-Caller return to the room with two large gas containers. He has a sinking feeling in his stomach that makes him think he knows exactly what they're going to do now that the plan has been compromised. Or maybe this was the plan all along.

"Got the stuff." He says, and Glass-Breaker grabs one container. The two step into the next room – the main entryway that they'd dragged him through when they'd put him in here – and they set about dousing the walls and floor in gasoline.

"Mrngh!" Spinelli tries to shout out, but the bandana gag over his mouth prevents it from being decipherable. "Mm!" The zip-tie he's almost had loose finally gives under his renewed and frantic struggling, biting into his wrist more before it snaps and releases one of his hands. He moves to pull the gag away from his face.

"Kid's loose!" Boos-Caller warns, heading for what Spinelli can only presume is a back door as he passes out of sight.

Glass-Breaker storms in, looking irritated by the lack of cooperation once again. "Damn it, brat." He growls out. "You gotta be difficult, huh?" He bops Spinelli over the head with something – he never does figure out what before things go blurry and dark on him – and then he feels his hand being pulled behind once again. His efforts were all in vain, he realizes. He's fixed in place once again. There's a pull on his hair as well, presumably the gag going being tied back into place.

Moments later, and he feels the warmth of fire nearby and the overwhelming, sickening scent of smoke closing in on him.

***

The house is up in flames already when they approach and Jason can't even bring himself to care that he's leaving Weston behind in the car as he runs into the burning building. Spinelli's in there, here and now. He can deal with Weston and his goons once he has his Jackal safe and sound.

The rickety looking front porch – and by default, the door - is entirely blocked by flames, so he circles around to the back, looking for an open window or back door, or anything really to provide him an uncompromised entry point. After almost a complete circuit around the house, he's found nothing, but finally there's a window low enough for him to get through.

He grabs a rock from the ground, hurls it through the glass – there's no fire evident in the room, which at least means he isn't giving it more fuel - and once he knocks as much glass from it as he can, he hauls himself through. Some shards slice his hands and knees, but that's hardly going to stop him.

"Spinelli!" He shouts, desperate and practically shaking with anxiety. "Spinelli! Where are you?"

He hears nothing in response. The door to the room he's in isn't hot to the touch, so he dares to open it. It lands him in a hallway that extends practically the length of the house.

Following it to its end, back toward the front of the building, he finds another door. This one is worryingly warm, but he has no choice. Spinelli could be just on the other side.

He cracks the door open, just a bit, and the same flames that had blocked his entrance are on the other side of the room. Smoke clouds his vision, makes him cough, so he hunches down as low as he can as he searches, calling out Spinelli's name every few seconds.

There's another door off to the side, so he slips into that room – it looks like a kitchen. He's not the only one coughing anymore.

Distantly, he hears the crash-bang of something falling towards the back of the house. The fire's getting worse, probably compromising the already unsteady looking structure of the house. "Spinelli?" He calls out again, trying to get nearer to the other occupant of the room. His eyes are red and watery from walking through the smoky entryway, but the figure tied to the chair is most definitely Spinelli.

"Mrrngh!"

Jason's beside his grasshopper in seconds, trying to figure out how many ties he'll have to cut to get Spinelli out of here. Ankles, knees, and wrists are zip-tied, and he's attached to the chair as well. He pulls the gag from its place over Spinelli's mouth.

"St-" He stops to cough. "Stone Cold, I…"

"Hold on. I need to get you out of here." He assures, pulling out his pocket knife. He carefully cuts the ties on Spinelli's wrists. He sees the blood there, but he'll have to take care of that later, once they're out of here.

Spinelli's hands paw at him frantically while he cuts the ties on his knees and ankles, then the one's securing him to the chair. Arms wrap around him, and Jason's tempted to hold on for as long as he can, but there are more crashing sounds and they need to get the hell out of the house before it burns down all around them.

"You're okay?" Jason asks, looking him over. He's soot-stained and he has a few cuts, and a bump on his head, but he doesn't see any other injuries. Another coughing fit interrupts a verbal reply, but the younger nods in answer. "Good." He grabs the bandana Spinelli's kidnappers had gagged him with and offers it up. "Cover your mouth and nose."

He does as told and his hand finds Jason's as they navigate back through the main entryway. The front door is still ablaze, too much to risk going through, so it's back to the hallway.

"Stay close to me." Jason says, wary of whatever had been making noise back here previously. Any loose sections of walls or roof or floor would be quite the disastrous hazard. The door he'd come through, the one to the room with the broken window, is hot to the touch now. Which doesn't make sense. The hallway isn't on fire, so the only way that room could be is…

If it were a trap.

Jason growls and silently chastises himself for his own idiocy. They'd lured him in here to rescue Spinelli only to trap both of them once he'd made his move. The crashing noises had been this second fire starting, blocking their exit.

Spinelli's eyes lock with his and it's clear that they both know something isn't right.

One thing that would improve their very problematic state of affairs would be if there was running water available. As it stands, with the condition that house looks to be in, Jason very much doubts this as a possibility.

"Come on, we need to find another way." He says, and they backtrack down the hall back towards the main room. Maybe there's a door he missed somewhere that leads to a safe exit.

Spinelli clings to him as they pass through the smoke-filled room. It's getting worse and worse with every moment that passes. They need to get out of here soon – the smoke will kill them before the flames.

There isn't a door in the kitchen, but there is one they seemed to miss in the main entryway. It's stuck, though, and Jason has to use considerable force to get it open. He ushers Spinelli into the room ahead of him and then they realize that it was closed off so effectively for a reason.

The floor splinters beneath their feet, and swallows them up, dropping them quite unceremoniously on the cold concrete floor of the house's cellar. Funny – he hadn't seen stairs anywhere. He hears Spinelli's screams as they fall.

Jason groans with the impact, his muscles groaning in protest as he tries to sit up, but on the plus side, the smoke seems content to stay at higher levels. His arm aches from how he'd thrown it out to break his landing, and he'd clunked his head against a box he'd landed half on-top of, but mostly it's just knocked the wind out of him.

"Spinelli?" He calls out, vision swimming and trying to adjust to the comparative darkness of the basement. Slowly, which is as quickly as he can manage, he sits up, unnerved by the silence in answer to his call.

No coughing, no words, just the crackling of the flames above them.

When he finally blinks his vision back into watery focus, his eyes land on the form of his Jackal, lying still on the concrete. His leg is twisted at an awkward angle, Jason figures that probably happened with the initial fall, when the floor gave out. The concrete probably didn't help.

He moves quickly, ignoring the sharp pang of pain in wrist as he falls to Spinelli side.

"Mm…" The single sound from Spinelli may be one of the best thing's he's ever heard. "Wha… happened?" He mumbles out, lifting a hand to his head before Jason can stop him from moving. Doing so seems to remind him of the state of his leg, because then he's cringing and gasping in pain.

"We fell." He explains quickly, sliding his finger's behind Spinelli's head to check for bleeding. None. Good. "Aside from," He doesn't look at the obviously broken extremity, he can't. "The leg. Anything else hurt?"

Spinelli blinks up at him. "Uh, everything?" He coughs out. There's a disturbing creaking noise above them that doesn't sound like good news.

If Jason had his way, they'd hide out down here until help arrived, but two things prevent this. One, he doesn't know if or when help is coming. Two, if he doesn't get them out of here soon, the rest of the house is going to be joining them in the cellar, as well. They got lucky on the fall; chances are they don't get lucky again.

No time for field-first aid attempts, no time for anything right now except escape.

Jason spots the outside (possibly the only) entrance to the cellar – their way out. He moves to make sure they can get out through it. He can see a bolt across it, locking it in place, but he can break through that if he puts some strength behind it – the locks are meant to keep people out, not in. He doesn't know if the culprits behind this are still close, so he has to be fast.

Returning to Spinelli, he looks him over once more. "I need to move you, and it's going to hurt." He warns, because the last thing on the planet he ever wants to do is hurt Spinelli, but he's going to have to in order to save him. "Hold on to me if you can."

Spinelli nods in understanding, and he tries – for Jason – to stay silent. Carefully, he helps Spinelli to his feet, rather foot, and then uses his good arm to leverage Spinelli's body over his shoulder in a firemen's carry. Spinelli's arms wrap around Jason to keep him in place and Jason curls his bad arm around Spinelli's uninjured leg. After a brief moment of shifting his balance to support the added weight, he makes for the exit.

His call on the locking mechanism was correct, he is glad to see. It gives after a couple of decent hits from his good arm and the two doors open to allow them their escape. Maneuvering carefully up the steps – quite a challenge when he's top-heavy with Spinelli across his shoulders – he peers out. He sees no sign of Weston or any of his men.

"How many guys were with you?" He asks Spinelli quietly, as he dares to move further out.

Spinelli's trying not to cough, Jason knows, can feel how tense he is, but he answers anyway. "Four, but…" He pauses, tries to stop himself and succeeds. "Two left."

Jason figures one of them was the guy he'd seen at the airport.

With no sign of anyone else around, not bad guys and not good guys with sirens, he makes for the row of houses beyond the woods behind the house. Someone there must have a phone, must have a way to get help for Spinelli.

He scans his surroundings carefully, looking for any sign of imminent ambush, but none comes. Weston's goons probably think them dead by now, probably stopped watching since they'd blocked all fathomable escape routes. He wonders if they knew the cellar was still inadvertently accessible.

"Almost there." Jason assures Spinelli as he jogs up the hill toward the houses, trying to jostle his cargo as little as possible.

The first house he comes to is empty. Not abandoned, it's just that no one seems to be home. He considers breaking in, but he's spared the decision when someone down the street spots him.

"You need help down there?" Someone calls out, waving to him from two houses down. A man, just getting in from work, Jason would guess, given his briefcase and undone tie.

He carries Spinelli off of the porch toward the sidewalk and cuts across the lawn, approaches the stranger cautiously. "That house down there is on fire – my friend, he got hurt."

The man eyes the oddly angled leg, and both of their ash-covered persons, reeking of smoke. He nods. "Bring him inside, I'll call for help."

Jason follows obediently, waiting patiently for the man to get his front door unlocked and allow them entrance. "Can I put him down somewhere?"

"Put him on the couch." He suggests, darting out of the room to grab a portable phone. He returns a moment later with the intention to aid in the task to find that the injured one has already been laid out on the sofa and the, well, less injured one if hovering over him watchfully.

"Spinelli," Jason says, shaking the younger's arm. "Hey, come on, stay awake for me, okay? We'll get you to the hospital soon, alright?" Spinelli hums in affirmative response, but ends up in another coughing fit.

The homeowner passes the phone to the more alert of the two strangers. "I figure you'll have a better idea of what to tell them." He says by way of explanation.

Jason dials 911 and requests an ambulance immediately. He has to pause to ask for the address, but is otherwise quick and thorough in his explanation of Spinelli's current situation and list of injuries. After several moments of conversation, the sound of sirens can be heard on the street.

He should probably make a call to Spinelli's parents, or at the very least, to the Oakfield police, but he does neither.


	8. Chapter 6

Worth The Wait

_**AU in that I entirely distort the timeline of events as it is known to have occurred. Not so much actual events, but moreso the details of people involved in them. Which reminds me. I suppose I have to warn for mentions of underage involvement. Nothing graphic or messy, I promise. Partially co-written with cynical_sweater and with lots and lots of aid courtesy of suerum. OC's are mine, recognizable characters are not. Reviews are loved. Enjoy!**_

* * *

**Chapter 6  
**

* * *

Oakfield Memorial Hospital is a surprisingly busy place for a town that's on the small side. But the ambulance gets them there quickly and that's all Jason is really concerned with.

Jason insists that he needs no treatment of his own, even though he knows he probably does. It's only once they've taken Spinelli away from him, into the depths of the hospital, citing family-only rules that Jason can't fight anymore, that he relents.

One Dr. Gage lures him into a curtained off area to check out his injuries, and instantly declares that his arm is probably fractured and sends him off for a series of x-rays – his wrist, his chest (for smoke inhalation) and his head (for signs of concussion, since he was idiotic enough to mention that he'd bumped that in his fall).

These proceedings take far longer than he would like them to, over all, especially amongst doctors who are not familiar with his medical history and who do not appreciate his personal wishes with regard to his own medical well-being.

All in all, he ends up with his right wrist casted due to a fracture of the ulna, an ice-pack for his not-concussed head, and even thought the chest x-ray came up clean, he allows himself to sit on oxygen for about twenty minutes before he gets annoyed and pulls the mask off. Five minutes later, he's signs the Against-Medical-Advice paperwork and considers himself officially discharged.

He's just storming out to demand answers regarding Spinelli when Daniel and Lisa arrive. They look quite distraught, but as far as Jason knows, they don't know anything, so he figures that's why. At least that's what he hopes because the alternative is that they know something he doesn't.

Lisa approaches him, Daniel glowers from a distance. "Do you know what happened?"

"The guys who took him trapped him in a fire. We… fell through the floor to the basement trying to get out. I know he at least has a broken leg, but…They won't tell me how he is since they don't count me as family." He explains, hoping that maybe they'll at least assure him that Spinelli's alright once they get the information.

Daniel approaches then, still not Jason's biggest fan in the world. "Well, in all fairness, you are not family."

Jason glares back. He's not sure he has the self-control to deal with this at the moment. "I'm aware of your opinion." He says, and then returns his attention to Spinelli's mother. "Did the police find my car outside of the house? Or any of the guys who did it?"

She shakes her head. "I don't know about your car, but no one was arrested."

Then Weston and his goons had gotten away. Which means that Spinelli is still in danger because of him. He'll worry about that if he ever finds out if Spinelli's okay.

"Don't- Of course. This was your fault, wasn't it?" Daniel continues to attack him, and he probably deserves it. "They took him because you're in the mob and some enemy of yours did all of this to get to you."

Jason stays silent, wishes it weren't true.

"Damn it, you owe us an answer. You got our son kidnapped!"

He's saved from having to when the doctor who'd treated him approaches their group. "Mr. and Mrs. Spinelli, I presume?" Dr. Gage inquires, letting her gaze shift between the two strangers and her less than cooperative patient. "If you'll come with me, I'll be glad to take you to your son."

"Not you." Daniel shoots back at him as they walk away. Jason is left in the waiting room.

***

Spinelli isn't quite sure how he got to the hospital. It's all a little fuzzy and, well, a lot smoky. He remembers the events leading up to it. Being tailed after dropping the girl off at her house, being sick, being tied up and left alone to die in the house fire. He remembers Jason saving him, remembers falling and Jason saving him again. Not much else after that.

His parents are hovering nearby, which is further unnerving. The first conscious thought he has upon really returning to consciousness is "Where's Stone Cold?" However, it comes out a garbled mess that sounds nothing like that and for a moment he fears that he's still back with the kidnappers, that he's still gagged and tied to a chair.

As it turns out, there's an oxygen mask on his face. He lifts an arm to pull it away.

"Where's…" He doesn't get far before he starts coughing, so he puts the mask back on.

His mother's at his side, holding his hand, but she missed the point of his attempted question. "Are you alright, Damian, honey?" She asks, thumbs moving in circles over the back of his hand.

His eyes dart to the door, half expecting Jason to come in any moment now, but he doesn't. He tries to pull the mask off again. "…Stone Cold?" He gets out, barely fighting off another round of painful coughing.

"Didn't we make it clear that you weren't to contact have any contact with him when we brought you home?" Daniel asks, still quite peeved over being lied to on the issue. "You're not to see him anymore. And I don't know why you'd want to since this mess is all because of his involvement with you."

If it were not for the fact that he likely wouldn't make it past the first sentence, Spinelli would have been in full Jackal-rant mode over how that wasn't really an accurate statement. He had been safe under Jason's protection back home, at least safer than he is in Oakfield. Sure, there was danger there, but his proximity to the situation allowed for more immediate reactions to imminent threats against him. As it stands, he can't say much of anything in either Jason's or his own defense. "'Tis the furthest thing from the truth." He manages, and then descends into yet another obnoxious coughing fit.

"Daniel, this isn't the time or place to be having this conversation." Lisa warns, then smiles warmly at her son. "Please, put the oxygen mask back on before you hurt yourself."

His father exhales a massive sigh, throws his hands up, and leaves the room. Clearly he's the only one still sane in his family.

"You really want to see him?" Lisa asks quietly, once Daniel is gone, and Spinelli nods enthusiastically. "Alright."

***

It about kills Jason that he has to go to the Pediatric Unit to see Spinelli, but he's not going to complain because he's lucky he gets to see him at all.

The nurse's station in the middle of the unit is piled with toys and stuffed animals. He decides that they should have a separate area for teenagers. If they were at General Hospital, none of it would have mattered. He would have been Spinelli's medical proxy and he would have had his Jackal put in a private room that wasn't decked out in teddy bears.

He's about to ask the nurse at the stuffed animal covered desk where the room is when he sees Lisa waving him over. "Thanks for letting me see him." He says, because he is entirely aware that she could have refused, too.

"I'm hoping it will calm him down. He's getting a little worked up over everything."

He nods, and steps into the room. Spinelli's green - if a bit red rimmed from the smoke - eyes light up when they land on him. "Hey," He greets, pulls up the chair beside the bed. Spinelli catches his hand before he can do anything to negate the move, but he doesn't mind. "You alright?"

Spinelli smiles at him through the oxygen mask. They have matching casts. Jason's on his arm, Spinelli's on his leg. There are twin bandages on both of the younger's wrist from the zip-ties, making it look like he tried and failed at attempting suicide or something. By now, someone has provided him a writing pad and a pen, which he is most grateful for. 'Who did it?' Is his first scrawled out question, because he still has no idea.

"Weston. The guy who shot me, the one I told you about." He explains. "I don't know who his goons were, but I'll find them, don't worry."

'Regan?' Is his next inquiry.

Jason sighs, let's his finger's entwine with Spinelli's like they have so many times before. "Weston's niece. I have a feeling she was wired during your date." He speaks quietly, because Lisa is lurking by the door supervising or whatever she would like to call it, doesn't want to make her mad and lose his chance to visit by making it sound like it was her fault – through the blind dates – that Spinelli had been taken.

Spinelli's writing again, a more long-winded message this time. 'Don't go after them. Let the police take care of them, your Jackal insists.'

He closes his eyes because he'd been afraid of that. "I have to, Spinelli. I have to keep you safe, have to know you're safe." If he lets the police arrest Weston and his goons, there's no guarantee that they'll be convicted and no guarantee that they'll stay locked up.

Spinelli takes several long, deep breaths into the oxygen mask. It sends Jason into a slight panic, thinking that he can't breathe or that it's stopped working or something, and he's just moving to get up to sound some sort of alarm on the issue when Spinelli reaches up and tugs the mask away from his face. "I implore you not to go exacting revenge upon those resp… responsible." He stops to cough, and Jason's hand holds tighter to his. "Stone Cold, for you're not in optimum condition yourself." He glances at Jason's plaster covered arm and the back at the similarly red-rimmed, but otherwise blue eyes he's seen so many times. "Your Jackal does not wish to see you harmed in a needless act of vengeance committed on his behalf."

The younger's voice is hoarse, and he should probably stop talking, Jason knows, so he takes it upon himself to settle the mask against Spinelli's face again. "If that's what you want." He agrees, because in the end, what Spinelli wants, he typically gets.

He nods in approval – that's what he wants. Then it's back to writing again. 'I still can't come home, can I?'

Jason shakes his head, tries to figure out a way he can tell Spinelli of his promise to his parents – since he imagines they'll try to make him keep it. "No, you can't come home yet." He pauses, takes a deep breath of his own, to make what's coming next a little bit easier to say. "Listen, Spinelli, I…"

"Jason."

He turns to Lisa in surprise at the abrupt interruption, who's motioning him back to the door. "I have to go?"

"No, I just need to speak with you for a moment." She explains, and with a promise of a quick return for Spinelli, the two step into the hallway.

"What do we have to talk about?" He questions, unsure as to where she stands overall on the span of things she could throw at him.

She crosses her arms, glances back toward the room, where they can both just see Spinelli. "You were going to tell him about the deal we made, yes? That you'd leave if we helped you?"

He frowns. Was she trying to hurry him into breaking the news or something? "I… I was getting there."

"Don't." Lisa tells him, which only confuses him more. "Don't tell him, I mean. Forget the deal. I don't… condone your… job. And I don't approve of your relationship with my son while he's still a minor - I'm still getting used to the idea that he's, shall we say, otherwise inclined? - But… once he is eighteen, I know I won't get a say in what he does or who he does it with, and I would really rather prefer to at least be a part of his life once that happens. I know, I realize that you're protecting him. Everything you've done, even giving him up, was protecting him." She's not as eloquent as the speeches from his Spinelli usually are, but its meaning is certainly not lost on him. "So, if you mean what you put in the ring you gave him, that you'll wait for him, then… well, I suppose I approve."

Relief washes over him with her words. Having one of them on his side is a vast improvement over the previous state of things, and now he doesn't have to find a way to essentially break Spinelli's heart. "I… don't really know what to say. Other than thank you." He pauses, grins, looks back to Spinelli, who seems to be able to see that nothing is terribly amiss in their conversation. "And that I meant it. I'll wait as long as it takes."

She nods in full endorsement and then motions him back to the room. "I'll work on bringing Daniel around."

"Thank you. Again." He says, as he reclaims his spot by Spinelli's bedside.

'What happened?' Spinelli writes, looking quite befuddled by the entire situation. Last time he'd checked, Jason and his parents had been all but declared enemies.

Jason grins, lets his fingers curl around Spinelli's again. "Nothing much. Your mom just reminded me that I need to get your ring out of evidence. For now, through," He says, sliding his own from its place on his neck. "Hold onto mine for me, will you?"


	9. Chapter 7

Worth The Wait

_**AU in that I entirely distort the timeline of events as it is known to have occurred. Not so much actual events, but moreso the details of people involved in them. Which reminds me. I suppose I have to warn for mentions of underage involvement. Nothing graphic or messy, I promise. Partially co-written with cynical_sweater and with lots and lots of aid courtesy of suerum. OC's are mine, recognizable characters are not. Reviews are loved. Enjoy!**_

* * *

**Chapter 7  
**

* * *

It only takes Daniel a week to explode. Jason's still in town, will be until Spinelli's better and back on his feet. The only thing is… Daniel doesn't know this yet.

After Spinelli is released some four days after his admission to the hospital, Lisa lets Jason into the house so that he can look after Spinelli while she's running errands and stopping into work to keep caught up. Daniel comes home early one day, finds them sitting on the couch, Jason's good arm casually tossed around Spinelli's shoulders, watching some special Spinelli had wanted to see on the History Channel.

Daniel starts off stuttering and unable to actually form words. Jason stands, putting himself between the fury-crazed man and Spinelli just out of instinct. "Relax." He tries to placate Spinelli's father, holding up his hands – one of which can be considered a weapon, if it comes to that – to further assure Daniel that he means no harm.

"Relax!? Don't tell me to _relax_ when I have you here, breaking into my home and seducing my son!" He all but roars out, face going red with anger. He looks like he's about to explode all over the room. "I want you out of here this instant and I am calling the police."

"If the Jackal may interject-" Spinelli tries, still sounding a bit hoarse, but his father's glare turns on him from around Jason and he falls silent in response.

"We're just watching a movie." Jason insists calmly, gesturing to the still rolling action on the television screen. "That's all."

"I… I… I have no idea what you think gives you the right to, to come barging in here like you own the place!" he sputters, fists balling at his sides. "I know that you seem to think that you – and the no good thugs you associate yourself with – are all above the law, but you're not. I'll see to it that you are arrested." He says, more confidence and less stammering now. "If not for what you've done to my boy, then _at least_ for breaking and entering!"

"That would require him to have actually committed the crime of breaking and entering, though, Daniel." Lisa informs him, matter-of-factly from the doorway, where she has just appeared with a paper bag full of groceries. "I invited him in this morning."

He stares at his wife in shock. "I… you… _why_?"

"Because as of now – as of last week, actually – I've accepted that Jason is a part of Damian's life and by trying to keep them apart, we were only going to lose him. So, in order to prevent that from happening, I'm allowing this."

"But," Daniel protests, practically laughing as he questions the sanity of everyone around him. "Damian is only seventeen and Mr. Morgan is… is a mob prince, for heaven's sake!"

Jason and Spinelli watch the exchange with concern, the elder ready to step in and intervene if anything gets out of hand.

"In eleven months, Damian will be eighteen and you and I will have no say at all. Until then, I've been promised and assured that nothing will occur against any laws. Watching a movie, as they informed me they would be doing before I left, is not, last time I checked, illegal." She retaliates. "As for your second point: I may be a bit in the dark – as I wish to stay – with regard to any organizations Jason may be tied to, but since our son is already involved with Jason he is a target with him or apart from him. From what I have observed he is safer with him and it is clear to me that Jason would risk his life to protect him."

Daniel looks about to retort again, perhaps fly into yet another rant, but Lisa cuts him off before he can begin.

"_So_, as long as Damian is recovering and as long as there are mob thugs running around trying to kill him, Jason is more than welcome to stick around and help look after him. After that, we'll work out some sort of arrangement." She explains, lying out the plans she's drawn up and not in a tone that gets argued with. "Are we clear?"

Her husband nods, still looking quite furious, and storms out of the house.

"He'll be better once he cools down." Lisa assures the two bystanders to the argument. "Jason, would you mind helping me with these groceries?"

Daniel comes back late that night, and, to his credit, he is calmer. Spinelli's snoring lightly against Jason's side on the sofa, casted leg comfortably propped up. The elder seems quite content to just sit in the dark and let him sleep.

"Please don't yell." Jason says quietly, hoping he'll listen, if only for Spinelli's sake.

Spinelli's father nods in agreement, and is just as quiet when he responds. "Lisa's not wrong, is she? You'll keep him safe?"

"As best I can. There… aren't any guarantees in my line of work. Not for anyone." He says honestly. "But Spinelli is the best thing that's happened to me and I'll do whatever I have to for him, to protect him."

There's a long pause, and for a moment Jason fears that he said something, did something to set Daniel off again and another loud tirade is about to be delivered. But none comes.

"Hm." Daniel says thoughtfully, then stands and walks out of the room. "I'll hold you to that."

Five weeks later, the day Jason's cast comes off, he goes back to Port Charles. Spinelli's got another week or so in his cast, the doctors think, as his wasn't as clean a break as Jason's had been, and after that he'll have to go through some physical therapy. His lungs are still a little messed up from the smoke inhalation, the doctors aren't sure if that'll ever go away, but at the moment it just means that Spinelli won't be running any marathons.

The first place he goes is to Sonny's place, because while he promised Spinelli that he wouldn't go after Weston and his thugs for revenge, he said nothing about roughing them up a little bit before turning them over to the police.

Sonny isn't terribly fond of the second part of his plan – the 'cooperating with the authorities' part – but then that becomes the least of his worries.

Jason has something else to tell him with regard to his future business plans.

"Once I'm done with them, I'm quitting." He says simply, because he's been thinking this through since his talk with Spinelli's father. He'd sworn that he'd do whatever it took to protect Spinelli, so now he's going to act on it.

Sonny's eyes widen in disbelief and for a moment he goes through the same motions that Daniel did before he blew up over walking in on he and Spinelli sitting on the couch. "Ugh, would you care to tell me why you've made this sudden decision?"

Jason shrugs. It doesn't matter how Sonny takes this news. Once he's got Weston locked up, he's done. "I need to do this, to make sure that Spinelli stays out of danger once he comes home."

"You would be doing this for him." He rolls his eyes, his anger now armed with a clear target. "Damn it, Jason. That kid has caused you so much trouble and now you want to go and make this stupid move?" With a hand to his head, he goes for the scotch on the desk on the other side of the room. "Why? So he can leave again and I'll have to put up with you being all distracted? Spinelli was trouble enough before he left-"

Jason sighs, leans against the desk. "He left to protect me, he had to."

Sonny stares. "Protect you from… what? A computer virus?"

"He, ugh, lied about how old he was. I didn't know about it, not until his parents showed up one night." Maybe Sonny knowing his reasoning, all of it, will make him understand. "Spinelli went with them so they wouldn't go after me."

"So he was underage… how underage?" He pauses to ask, he doesn't wait for an answer, but does stop long enough to down his shot of alcohol and pour himself another - it sounds like he's going to need it. "And you two were together. Great, so not only was he trouble before all of this – distracting you and getting you to disobey my orders – he could have gotten you arrested because he kept secrets."

"I know his reasoning, you don't need to." He growls out. He'd like to defend Spinelli from Sonny's comments, like he used to do before Sonny more or less accepted that he wasn't going anywhere, but he needs to make it clear that he's not coming back to the organization. Pissing Sonny off usually only succeeds in making him ignore most of what is said. "All you need to know is that this is the end of our business relationship."

Sonny shakes his head. He'll believe it when he sees it. "Didn't you learn anything from when you were in charge? Just like you told me – saying you're done with the business doesn't mean that it's done with you."

"You never really left." Jason supplies. It's true. The entire time he'd been in control of the business, Sonny was still looking over his shoulder, questioning his moves and interfering. "Spinelli and I, we'll be out. If we have to, we'll leave."

That does more to annoy the older man. "Not to mention that you're leaving me without an enforcer and with a useless hacker."

And there it is. The main argument. "This isn't about you, Sonny. I've made my decision and you're not going to change my mind. I'm putting Spinelli first, where he should be. We'll open up a Private Investigations office or something, it doesn't matter. We'll be done."

He makes for the door, but he stops. He has one more thing to do. He's hardly expecting favors from his ex-employer at this point, but it's really less of a favor and more like a last request. "Oh, give this to your useless computer guy for me, will you?"

"What is it?" Sonny begrudgingly asks, taking the sealed envelope.

"The name of Spinelli's college roommate. He knew how old Spinelli was." And Jason may or may not be inclined to cause him some unexpected financial and legal troubles in return for his bad judgment on the issue of bedding an underage Spinelli. "He doesn't know I'm doing this."

Sonny nods for whatever reason, and downs the rest of his second scotch."I'll make sure the new resident geek gets it."

And with his resignation formally behind him – as well as a rather displeased Sonny Corinthos – he walks away.


	10. Chapter 8

Worth The Wait

_**AU in that I entirely distort the timeline of events as it is known to have occurred. Not so much actual events, but moreso the details of people involved in them. Which reminds me. I suppose I have to warn for mentions of underage involvement. Nothing graphic or messy, I promise. Partially co-written with cynical_sweater and with lots and lots of aid courtesy of suerum. OC's are mine, recognizable characters are not. Reviews are loved. Enjoy! **_

_**THIS IS THE LAST CHAPTER. ONLY AN EPILOGUE REMAINS.  
**_

* * *

**Chapter 8  
**

* * *

It takes him three weeks to track down Weston's goons – they did a damn good job of avoiding him. But, eventually, he gets an up-to-date and accurate lead that claims that two of the men responsible for the kidnapping have shown up at some warehouse out in the Port Charles boondocks.

Jason, honoring his word to Spinelli, doesn't try anything. Instead, he sends the police an anonymous tip – nothing good comes from meetings in unexceptional warehouses on the outskirts of town, and he Is well aware of this fact when he makes the call – and waits.

The two are arrested – with several kilos of cocaine prepped and ready for shipping in their possession, along with several unregistered weapons. Their guns come up in the databases as having been used in several crimes in Tennessee, and one of their prints turns up on the necklace that had been ripped from Spinelli's neck during the kidnapping.

The PCPD gives up custody and the duo are sent off to Oakfield to face prosecution first.

Spinelli identifies them as Glass-Breaker – one Brian Castleman, with no previous convictions (which hardly mean he's innocent, just good at not getting caught), and Boss-Caller – one Tyler Orson, with several arson arrests to his name.

Orson talks, Castleman doesn't. The Oakfield PD finds the two other accomplices in the kidnapping. Jason recognizes the one Spinelli had called Arm-Tier as the man he knocked out in the airport parking lot. He's identified as Patrick Quinn and has likewise managed to rack up quite the rap-sheet with some assault and battery charges. He also has some more worrisome allegations of assault with a deadly weapon that makes Jason glad that he knocked the guy out before he had the chance to touch Spinelli. The last man, the one who Spinelli had claimed disappeared after they switched cars, is Paul Stark – he's less of a career criminal and more like someone who owed Weston a favor. Jason recognizes him, too, though. As the man who'd lived near the burning house, who'd let them in and aided them.

Stark spills absolutely everything – except where Weston is now.

* * *

With four conspirators behind bars and one to go, Jason – since he's already in the area to speak to the police – chances a visit to Spinelli.

He knocks at the door and Daniel answers, surprise on his face upon seeing who it is. "Morgan," He greets, not quite on first-name basis just yet. "What're you doing here?"

"I came to check in on Spinelli. He's doing well with the physical therapy, he said."

Daniel nods. "He is, but he's not home right now. Lisa took him to a doctor's appointment. They'll probably be back soon."

Jason hadn't figured on that, but it does give him a chance to discuss another matter with Spinelli's father. "Well, then. Can we talk about something?"

His gaze narrows. "Depends on what it is."

"I told you that I'd do whatever I had to in order to make sure Spinelli's safe. I'm doing that. I thought you should know that I, ugh… I quit." Jason informs the man, hoping that maybe he'll be a little less hostile about his visiting Spinelli over the next nine months if the whole intimidating mob idea is out of the way. "I haven't told Spinelli yet, I was kind of hoping to surprise him."

Before Daniel gets the chance to react to Jason's news, or to his request for secrecy, the sound of a car pulling into the drive interrupts him. Lisa slides out from driver's side, Spinelli from the passenger's side, a singular crutch following after him.

"Stone Cold!" He declares, absolutely beaming the second he spots Jason standing in the doorway. Spinelli rushes forward as fast as his healing injuries allow him to. But he stops, just in front of Jason, looking as if he was going to hug him, but his father's presence freezes him in his tracks. "Oh… Dad. I, ugh…"

Daniel looks awkward as he sighs and rolls his eyes. "I'm fairly certain that hugging is not against any laws." He begrudgingly reminds them, stepping aside so Lisa can squeeze by the frozen couple, then follows her inside.

Spinelli abruptly unfreezes and tackles Jason with the hug he had previously intended. "What're you doing here, Stone Cold?" He inquires, thought he's certainly not complaining in the least about the unexpected visit.

"I was at the police station." He says, but before he can elaborate, Spinelli's eyes widen in fear. Fear that Weston had made a move or fear that Jason had, he isn't sure, but he stops Spinelli's almost-panic in its tracks. "Relax. They caught the other two guys, the ones that kidnapped you."

"Arm-Tier and the Other One?" Spinelli questions, knowing that they'd already captured Glass-Breaker and Boss-Caller. "Did they have previous penchants for violence as well?"

Jason shrugs, tries to decide what to tell him about the Good Samaritan who hadn't been as good as previously perceived. "You know what? Let's go for a walk, exercise your leg a bit, and we can talk. You up for it?"

Spinelli nods, and pops inside quickly to tell his parents that they'll be back soon. Then, they head out. They end up in the park, not far from where Spinelli had been grabbed, coincidentally. And Jason tells him of Arm-Tier's history of violence, and of Stark's dubiously-involved state.

"So, the four conspirators have been brought to justice. What of Weston? Has he been located yet?" Spinelli questions, as they pause to rest on a bench.

"Not yet, no. I'm still working on it." He assures Spinelli. "I'll feel better once he is caught, though. So I'll know you're safe." Jason pulls something from his jeans pocket, a manila envelope with the Oakfield PD logo on the front. "The police said that they were finished with this, so…"

Spinelli grins when he realizes what it is. "The ring."

"Yup, the ring."Jason echoes, watches as Spinelli pulls the borrowed one from around his neck and hands it back to its owner. "Your parents know about it now. So, if you want to wear it normally..."

The younger nods enthusiastically and Jason unhooks the clasp on the necklace so he can slide the engraved ring off of it and onto its rightful place on Spinelli's hand. He slides his own ring from its chain and moves to put in on himself, but Spinelli's widening smile and the glint of engraved letters in the sunlight give him pause.

"I… might have taken the opportunity to have yours imprinted whilst you were away. " Spinelli admits, watching as Jason spins the band so he can read the words. It had taken him all of forever to choose something.

'Destined to be…' It reads, and Jason is not at all inclined to argue with that. Despite all of the things that have conspired to keep them apart – the mob, the secrets Spinelli had kept, Spinelli's parents, kidnappings and fires, - they've overcome nearly all of it. If not destiny, then it's certainly a hell of a lot of luck and skill.

Jason grins back at him, can't think of anything to say - beyond 'God, I love you' which he does articulate - and slides the engraved ring onto his own hand. There's a couple people walking about in the park, which makes it risky and downright impossible for him to kiss Spinelli, so he doesn't, but he does let his hand subtly slip into Spinelli's.

"You have to go back to Port Charles soon, don't you?" Spinelli frowns, a good while later. It's starting to get dark and they should get going soon, but neither wants to be the one to make that move.

"Yeah, tomorrow afternoon." He agrees, absently spinning the band on his finger. "Hopefully I'll figure out where Weston is hiding out and finish it." Unfortunately, he, too, has realizes that it's getting late, so he stands and then leverages Spinelli back to his feet, too. "We should probably start heading back now."

Spinelli walks close beside Jason as they make their way back along the path toward Spinelli's parent's house. "I wonder if Regan had any knowledge of her Uncle's nefarious activities?" He proposes, as they pass the street her house was on. "Perhaps she could shed some light on Weston?"

"I'll check into that before I leave." Jason assures the younger.

Spinelli falters in his progress forward. "Or, perhaps we could look into that now."

Jason shakes his head, vehemently opposed to that ridiculous plan. "I'm not letting you go anywhere near where that psychopath could possibly be hiding. Especially when you can't run away if he is there."

But Spinelli is still stubbornly refusing to move. "But, we're right here, and Regan would likely be more inclined to speak with you if someone familiar – myself – were present, as well, since you are rather intimidating to those not accustomed to your Stone Coldness, as it were."

He doesn't like it, not at all. But, Spinelli's arguments do have the winning points of reason and logic behind them. "Alright." Jason gives in, and they turn down Regan's street. It's the third house in, Spinelli reports, and the lights are on downstairs, so someone is likely both home and conscious.

He lets Spinelli knock, standing angled himself so he has a view into the window beside the door, to make sure no one with a 'shoot first, ask questions later' philosophy is approaching – though the likelihood of that is low. Regan, as it happens, answers the door.

"Damian," She grins, when she recognizes him under the glow of the porch light. "What are you doing here?"

"I just thought I'd stop by – I never checked to see that those unsavory characters responsible for the attack on me hadn't bothered you, as well." Spinelli says, Jason suspects that this isn't entirely a lie, either. It would be just like Spinelli to go back and make sure no one else – even a possible co-conspirator in the proceedings – was harmed.

She tucks her hair behind her ear and glances awkwardly at the as-of-yet un-introduced Jason. "I, ugh, no. No, they didn't bother me. I heard about what happened to you that night. You're okay now, right?"

"A little worse for wear, but recovering nicely." He assures her, and then motions to Jason. "Oh, this is my, ugh, friend, Stone Cold, or rather Jason. He was just in town visiting."

Regan nods, and offers a wave. "I'd, ugh, invite you in, but my little brother's asleep on the couch." She explains, gesturing over her shoulder. She steps out, though, and shuts the door behind her, motioning the two toward the chairs set on the porch. She eyes Jason again. "You, you were the one who saved Damian from that house in Springs Den, right?"

"Yeah, I was there." Jason nods. "Was it on the news? I didn't see any of the reports – we were at the hospital." He explains, though he'd heard of what had been in them from other sources. He's wondering if she knows anything that wasn't in them.

The girl shrugs. "Yeah, I saw a lot of the news coverage about it while I was at the hospital."

"The hospital?" Spinelli inquires, genuine concern mixing with pure curiosity. "I thought you said the brutes that took me didn't harm you?" While he knows the brutes responsible were under her Uncle's command, it doesn't explain why she was in the hospital, so he feels justified in asking.

"Oh, no. I wasn't a patient; I was waiting at the hospital. My Uncle was in a car accident they day after you were rescued." Regan answers. "He's okay now, got released earlier this week, finally. I came to see you once while I was there, but you were out of the room when I came by."

Jason is tense and frozen where he sits. The idea that he had been that close to Weston the whole time; that Weston had been here, near Spinelli when Jason had gone back to Port Charles, was unfathomable. He could have acted and Jason would never have reached Spinelli in time. His hands curl into fists at his sides.

Spinelli, apparently, realizes what is going through the elder's mind. His hand settles on Jason's shoulder as casually as possible. "Oh. Was… was he badly hurt?" Spinelli prompts, hoping to get more information out of her.

Regan shrugs. "He hit his head pretty bad and they put him in a medically induced coma or something for a while. Broke a few bones, too, but he's pretty okay now." She summarizes for them. "He's leaving town in a few days, going to stay with friends in London while he heals up the rest of the way."

"I hope he feels better," Jason manages to say without it sounding entirely insincere. He turns to Spinelli, then, "Your parents will probably want me to get you back soon."

"Indeed, Stone Cold." Spinelli responds, knowing full well that Jason will be all over this new information, especially with the time limit in place. "It was nice seeing you again, Regan." He smiles and leverages himself back to his feet with the aid of Jason's arm. "Perhaps we can hang out again sometime?" He ignores the pointed tightening of the grip Jason has on him that denotes his disapproval of such an idea.

She beams back at him. "Sure. Like… like another date?"

Spinelli shrugs sheepishly. "Ugh, no. Not exactly. I… I am decidedly spoken for."

Jason's hand is tucked into his jeans pocket, but they both see her catch sight of the gold band on Spinelli's hand. "Oh. I see. Congratulations, then." Regan grins.

"I'll see you sometime, then?"

"Sure."

With that, he and Jason continue on the way back to his parent's house with new leads to explore.

* * *

Due to his recently cut ties with Sonny and the Organization, he hesitantly agrees to let Spinelli hack for him again. Just this once. Never, ever again on mob business. And, following a civil dinner with Spinelli's parents, Spinelli brings his laptop out to the back porch and Jason and Spinelli sit together and set to work.

"We can presume that the Wicked Weston is staying at a hotel in or around Oakfield for now." Spinelli says, fingers already flying over the keyboard. "Also, he is likely registered under an alias, since he has to know you've been searching for him. I can check discharge records of Oakfield Memorial and see when he was released and then check hotel registries for check-ins that correspond."

"Sounds good." Jason agrees, one arm tossed comfortably around Spinelli's shoulders.

A few moments pass in relative silence, excepting the gentle chirping of the crickets in the July night and the occasional sound of a passing car on the street, but then Spinelli 'hmm's and frowns intently at the screen.

"What is it?" Jason presses, leaning closer to try to read whatever had caught Spinelli's attention.

"It's… most perplexing. I managed to locate Weston, rather easily, in fact, as he was registered under his own name at a small hotel near the hospital." He explains.

Jason's eyes narrow. Another lead. One step closer to dealing with Weston and forever ending his ties to the mob. "Where?"

"Stone Cold, I don't think... There it quite improbable that Weston would make his whereabouts so easily known unintentionally. Perhaps it is meant as a trap, or perhaps he wants you to find him for some other nefarious reason, but something is most assuredly not right about this."

"You don't want me to go, I know." The elder says. "But I need to do this. I'll turn him into the police – I promised you, remember?"

"Indeed, I recall. But it is not legal ramifications that presently concern your Jackal. Rather whatever diabolical plan the Wicked Weston has potentially set up for you." But he already knows that Jason is bound and determined to go, so he adds a mumbled reply as to the location. "He's at the Kincaid Inn, room 214."

"I'll be careful." He says, even though they both know that words are no guarantee, and slips away into the night.

* * *

Jason has only just located the building in question when his phone goes off. "What?" He asks, spotting Spinelli's name on the display. The call, while likely important if Spinelli would risk calling him in the middle of this stealth-involved mission, is interrupting his silent approach to the hotel.

Through the phone, he can make out the sound of Spinelli's fast-paced typing. "_There may be another alternative that explains Weston's odd actions_."

Jason pauses in his advance toward the service entrance of the three story hotel. "Alright. What is it?"

"_The Ace of Cyberspace has obtained access into the medical records from Oakfield Memorial and it seems Regan was somewhat uninformed about the complexities of her injured Uncle's injuries_." Spinelli tells him. "_It appears as though the reason he was put into a medically induced coma was because he suffered a rather severe head trauma. Even with the attempts to let his injuries heal, his records claim that he has lost both chunks of memory and some of his finer motor skills. Likewise, his right arm was crushed in the collision and will likely never regain function. His trip to London is not an escape attempt, but to see a doctor who specializes in dealing with such extreme orthopedic injuries._"

Jason silently takes in this new information and considers his options. He can claim the revenge that the mob life he is no longer part of dictates he take. Or he can let enough be enough and go back to Spinelli.

"_Stone Cold? I think Wicked Weston has suffered enough by his own hand, don't you?_"

With a sigh, he turns his back on the hotel and starts toward the car, his decision made. "I'll be back soon."

He can practically hear Spinelli's smile and he knows he's made the right call.


	11. Epilogue

Worth The Wait

_**AU in that I entirely distort the timeline of events as it is known to have occurred. Not so much actual events, but moreso the details of people involved in them. Which reminds me. I suppose I have to warn for mentions of underage involvement. Nothing graphic or messy, I promise. Partially co-written with cynical_sweater and with lots and lots of aid courtesy of suerum. OC's are mine, recognizable characters are not. Reviews are loved. Enjoy! **_

_**Okay, guys. This is it, thanks for sticking around and reading.  
**_

* * *

**Epilogue  
**

* * *

The penthouse is eerily dark and silent when Spinelli arrives. Which is not exactly unexpected. As far as Jason knows, he's not supposed to be in Port Charles until close to noon. But there had been an eleven o'clock flight that would land him in New York at roughly one in the morning. And the sooner he could get back home, back to Jason, the better.

"Stone Cold?" He calls out into the darkness.

He was officially eighteen now. Officially a legal adult allowed to do all of the things he'd already done. Only now he wasn't putting Jason at risk with secrets hidden in the shadows. His parents could no longer threaten his relationship with Jason even if they were still inclined to do so.

"Jason?" He tries again, having received no reply to his first attempt. He climbs the stairs and heads down the hallway. He stalls at the door to the pink room, contemplates revisiting what was once his sanctuary, but he holds off for now. Instead, he heads toward Jason's room at the end of the hall.

"Happy Birthday." Comes a voice from behind him.

Spinelli grins and turns around fully prepared to tackle Jason with what will quite possibly be the biggest and longest hug in the history of ever, but he halts abruptly when he sights the birthday cake held in Jason's hand. "You knew I was coming?"

"Your parents called, gave me the heads up." He sets the cake down on the hall table and then pulls Spinelli into his arms. "For the record, your surprise arrival seriously spoiled most of my plans for you." He jokes.

Spinelli's arms wind around his neck. "I can return to Oakfield and come back later, if that would help?"

Jason shakes his head and ducks to kiss Spinelli like he's been waiting to do for sixteen months. "Nope. Not happening. You're here and now and you're not going anywhere."

"The Jackal is entirely amenable to that."

"I imagined you would be." Jason retorts, dragging a hand through Spinelli's shaggy hair. "Oh, right." He says. "We… need to talk."

Spinelli kind of freezes at that, as nothing good typically comes from those words. "…What about?" He inquires, even as he follows Jason back downstairs and to the kitchen, where he returns the cake to its container for now.

"Some things have changed since you left, that's all." Jason assures him, noting how tense Spinelli's suddenly become. "Relax, this is part of _your_ surprise."

And, at that, Spinelli does relax.

"I'm out of the Organization. It's all Sonny's now." He easily summarizes one of the major changes that have occurred since Spinelli's rescue. "The word's been out and there haven't been any attacks against me since then."

Spinelli silently takes in this information, obviously surprised. "But, you've worked with Sonny for years. You just… why?"

"For you. I promised – myself and your parents – that I would do everything I could to keep you safe. And being in the mob wasn't doing that. I never want anyone with Weston's motives coming after you again."

"You don't have to give up everything you've…"

Jason cuts the protest off by moving to kiss Spinelli again and God, has he missed that. "I'm not giving up anything I'm not willing to, alright?"

Spinelli leans into Jason's touch, arms curled around him once more. "What're you going to do instead?"

"If you wanted to, I thought we could do the P.I. thing. Together." Jason says, and he really hopes the answer is 'yes'.

Spinelli's face lights up at the mere prospect of the idea. "Most assuredly, Stone Cold. 'Morgan & Jackal, P.I.' it shall be."

Jason grins back at him. "In that case, I have something I need to show you, too." His fingers entwine with Spinelli's and he gives a light squeeze when he feels the press of the gold band on Spinelli's finger's press into his. "Come on."

Spinelli isn't sure where he expected Jason was leading him, but to the pink room had been a surprise. "What's…"

"Hold on." Jason says, standing behind him and covering his eyes with one hand. Spinelli hears the sound of the door clicking open and after a few steps forward, Jason's hand falls away. "Again, happy birthday."

The regrettably pink room is still regrettably pink, but it is no longer a bedroom. Instead, it is an office. With two desks and a decent computer set-up (thanks to Sonny's less-talky, less-efficient computer guy) and plenty of space for hard copies of files. Posters for old film-noir style detective movies are framed on the walls and on the wall directly opposite the door is a plaque proclaiming it 'The Offices of Jackal & Stone Cold'.

Spinelli is staring at the change his room has taken on, unable to look away. "You… did all of this?"

"I had help." He says. "There's another office for client meetings and other things a few blocks from the hospital. Maxie was in charge of decorating that. This would be the home offices. The computers here and there are synched together, or something, or so said the guy who installed them."

He honestly doesn't know what to say to this awesome display of a birthday/homecoming present. "This is amazing." He finally settles on, tearing his eyes away from the pink room to turn back to Jason. Which is when it hits him that he no longer has a room of his own. "This means I'm sharing a room with you, then?"

Jason grins. "I was beginning to wonder if you'd caught on to that." He says. "As long as you're okay with that, of course."

Spinelli backs him out of the pink room and into the hallway, arms once again wrapped around him. "Nope, not okay with that at all." He quips, laughing at the ridiculousness that is the idea that he wouldn't be amenable to such circumstances. "But I think I could rather easily be convinced."

"Yeah?" Jason inquires, not unaware that they are rather quickly heading toward his, or rather, their room. "Guess I'll have to get on that, then."

They have a rather large and extravagant Welcome Home/Birthday party to get to in the not too distant future, but for now, Jason thinks, they can celebrate in private.


End file.
